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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28157691">Homeward Bound</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStarvingWriter/pseuds/TheStarvingWriter'>TheStarvingWriter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Din Djarin Needs a Hug, Din misses Grogu, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual reunion, Fix-It, Gen, Good Parent Din Djarin, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, Loneliness, ManDadlorian, Nightmares, Panic Attacks (kind of), Post-Episode: s02e08 The Rescue, Protective Din Djarin, References to Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Sad Din Djarin, Season 2 Finale Fix-It, The Force, Trauma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:54:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>32,352</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28157691</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStarvingWriter/pseuds/TheStarvingWriter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><i>In a single moment, the X-Wing punched into hyperspace, and that was it.<br/>Grogu was gone.</i><br/>--<br/>After Luke Skywalker takes Grogu, Din Djarin is adrift. He attempts to find solace in his old ways of bounty hunting, but he feels like an imposter—a shell of his former self, roaming around in a suit of beskar that no longer feels like his own.<br/>When a visit to Coruscant leads him to a Seer who tells him that Grogu is in danger, however, everything changes. Now, it's a race to find his kid and return him home, before he truly loses him forever.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Baby Yoda &amp; Din Djarin, Din Djarin &amp; Cara Dune, Din Djarin &amp; Grogu | Baby Yoda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>495</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to my first ever Star Wars fic! Well, actually, that's a lie. I wrote Clone Wars fic back in 2011, but that'll never see the light of day as it is quite atrocious.<br/>Basically, the season 2 finale ripped out my heart and cleaved it in two, so I'm writing fic to cope. This is what was born from it.<br/>I'm going to try and limit myself with this fic, and write it as fast as possible. In total, it will probably sit around 25k-35k words, and it should (hopefully) be done by early February.<br/>Some things you all should know:<br/>Though this fic has some references to Clone Wars, you do not need to have watched the show in order to understand the overall plot of this fic. I haven't watched the show in over ten years and am just going off of Wookieepedia and what I remember. The same can be applied to Rebels, which I don't even think I allude to. I've gotten a lot of comments about this, so I just thought I'd clear it up.<br/>Another thing is that I'm not sticking super close to canon, but not venturing far enough for this to be an AU in any way. I'm just tweaking some of the canonical details so that it fits the plot I have in mind, like Hosnian Prime being the home of the New Republic Senate, even though that didn't happen until 28 ABY. Small stuff like that :D</p><p>All that aside, I hope you all enjoy the prologue.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The metal doors to the elevator slammed shut with a finality that Din had never experienced.</p><p>The silence that followed was ringing. It pierced through the bridge, echoing in his ears. They were open to the air for the first time since Morak, and the sounds of the Imp cruiser were raw and unfiltered. He could hear the uneven breathing of his comrades behind him, the purr of the engines, the sizzling of the Dark Trooper's carcasses. Perhaps, if he strained his ears hard enough, he could still hear Grogu.</p><p>
  <em>Grogu.</em>
</p><p>The skin of his cheek still burned from where the child’s tiny hand had touched it. His eyes were still watery. His helmet was still off. No one had moved.</p><p>Yet it felt like millennia had passed since those doors closed, since that Jedi carved his way into the ship. It felt like millennia since he'd had the child in his arms. Millenia since Grogu was taken from him.</p><p>No, not taken. He gave Grogu away.</p><p>He could feel the collective stares of everyone in the room on him. He became violently aware that he didn’t have his helmet on, that he was actively breaking his Creed, but he couldn’t find it in him to care. It had already been broken, on Morak, when Mayfeld and that Imp officer saw him. He didn’t care.</p><p>He would later. Perhaps when they’re back on Slave I, far away from the Imperial Cruiser and light-years away from Grogu, he would care that he was, by definition, no longer a Mandalorian. Perhaps when he laid down to sleep, he would care that he took the Creed and smashed it to pieces.</p><p>But right then, he could feel the vibrations from the Jedi’s X-Wing taking flight from the southern hangar. He could see Cara start to move out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t have it in him to care.</p><p>He forced his body to move. He reached down and picked up his discarded helmet, holding out in front of him and staring at it. Cara came to stop next to him, a solid, silent presence at his side. He couldn’t look at her.</p><p>He heard the sound of the X-Wing again, and they all collectively turned towards the noise, watching as the craft circled back around the cruiser. Din’s heart leaped to his throat, <em>maybe I can see him.</em></p><p>He was walking towards the transparisteel before he knew what he was doing. He peered out into space, squinting to try and get a glimpse of the child he'd spent the past year of his life protecting, but he couldn’t. The X-Wing was too fast, the windows of the cockpit tinted dark. All he could do was watch it, stomach sinking, as it grew further and further away.</p><p>In a single moment, the X-Wing punched into hyperspace, and that was it.</p><p>Grogu was gone.</p><p>The reality of the situation was painful when it hit. The tears that had receded came back, blurring his vision and tightening his throat. He stared out into empty space, the stars burning into his retinas, jaw clenched tight, grief raging in his chest. Somewhere behind him, Fennec was comming Boba Fett, Bo-Katan was helping Koska up from the ground, and Cara was walking over to him again. They all felt so far away.</p><p>When Cara looked at him, her expression was one that he’d never seen, and it held the weight of a thousand moons. He stared down at her, the muscles in his face twitching as he fought to keep the moisture in his eyes.</p><p>It became too much. He turned away, and in one movement, he fitted the helmet back over his head, concealing his face. It was liberating and incarcerating all in one.</p><p>He shut his eyes, and the tears that he’d been trying to hold back slipped, falling down his cheeks. He fought to keep his breaths from hitching, his shoulders from shaking. He fought to keep from making any noise, from giving away the fact that he'd never experienced anything more painful in his life. That losing Grogu felt like somebody had peeled the beskar off of him, reached their hand inside his chest cavity, and had their fist clenched over his heart, squeezing it so hard that it popped blood vessels and collapsed ventricles. It felt like someone had tossed him out into space, and that the lack of oxygen was squeezing his lungs, squeezing them so hard that he couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't speak.</p><p>Cara’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, like she knew.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, feedback is much appreciated :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Symbol</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <i>Din’s eyes skimmed over the body of the ship, his gaze landing on the strange, navy blue insignia on the side. It was almost like the Rebel Alliance starbird, but not quite—the hollow moon shape was modified to look like Phoenix wings, and the three middle prongs were replaced with a single line, long and pointed, almost like the that of a sword. There was a star dividing that sword-like line, right where hilt would meet blade.</i>
</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>New chapter! And a long one too, almost 4,000 words. I hope you enjoy ~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On Slave I, Din sat in silence.</p><p>They were in hyperspace again, traveling at light speed away from Moff Gideon’s imperial cruiser. He had no idea where they were going.</p><p>A strange, numb apathy had settled over him. He felt unfocused, shaky, and unstable. If someone tried to attack him at that moment, he would fall within a minute.</p><p>And he had a feeling that Bo-Katan was going to try.</p><p>Every few moments, she glanced at the Darksaber at his hip. There was a hunger in her eyes, one that Din had never seen before, and one that put him on edge. He wanted to just give it to her, to be rid of the weapon that he had no use for, but it apparently didn’t work like that. She had to win it in combat.</p><p>Perhaps she would try to fight him. She could probably tell how off-kilter he was, how unsteady and unbalanced. He was an easy target. She could hit him with a single blow and he’d collapse.</p><p>Cara was next to him, sitting in the seat to his right. Her gun was in her lap, her legs crossed, her eyes roaming around the ship. She hadn’t left his side since the bridge, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. A part of him appreciated her concern, which was hidden in the dark depths of her eyes, but another part of him rankled against it. </p><p>Bo-Katan shifted in her seat, and her eyes flashed to the Darksaber once more. He silently begged her to come and take it, to knock him to the floor, hold him down, and pry from his belt. He didn’t want it. He didn’t want anything but Grogu back.</p><p>Grief choked him once more, and he clenched his hands on his knees.<em> It’s for the best,</em> he told himself, for what felt like the millionth time. <em>This is what you set out to do. This was your mission. This is The Way.</em></p><p>For the first time, the words rang hollow. It was deeply disturbing.</p><p>He stood in one movement, walking towards the back of the ship, where Moff Gideon was chained to one of the pipes. The man sent a venomous look his way, but he ignored it. He swiftly descended the ladder down to where the sleeping quarters were, before he sat down heavily on one of the cots, staring at the floor beneath his boots.</p><p>“He’s not dead, you know.”</p><p>He looked up sharply to find Cara standing in front of him, leaning against one of the bunk posts. She had her arms crossed, her eyebrows raised.</p><p>Din elected not to answer her. He stared back down at the floor.</p><p>“You’re acting like he’s dead, Mando. He’s not dead.”</p><p>No response.</p><p>“Listen, I’m not good with… emotions.” She said the word like it was something foreign and disgusting. “But you’ve gotta know that he’s with his people now, that you did the right thing.”</p><p>Silence.</p><p>“You can always visit him,” Cara suggested in a soft voice.</p><p>Din’s throat tightened, and he spoke for the first time in what felt like eons. “I don’t even know where he is.”</p><p>Cara’s lips parted in shock. It was clear that she wasn’t expecting a response. “It’s easy enough to track someone down. I’ve got—”</p><p>“I don’t even know the guy’s name.”</p><p>Cara pressed her lips together, and Din swallowed. “The galaxy is enormous, Cara. They could be anywhere. And I don’t even know his name.”</p><p>“Mando…”</p><p>He shook his head. “I didn’t ask for his… credentials. He could have been a fake, for all I know. He could be an Imp, trying to get more of his blood.”</p><p>“He’s definitely not an Imp. Imps can’t fight like that, and they certainly don’t wield those… light sticks, or whatever.”</p><p>Din shook his head again and lapsed into silence.</p><p>Cara looked at him for a long moment. “What are you going to do now?”</p><p>“Depends on where we’re going.”</p><p>Cara narrowed her eyes. “Nevarro.”</p><p>Of course, they were going to Nevarro. Truthfully, if he never had to see Nevarro again, he’d consider himself lucky.</p><p>He couldn’t stop the scoff that escaped him, his hands tightening into fists. Cara didn’t say anything about his reaction. She just kept watching him, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.</p><p>“Bounty hunting,” he said eventually.</p><p>The thought was incredibly unappealing. He had no idea how he used to be content with it—the quick in-and-out missions to different planets, the pleads that fell from the lips of his bounties before he froze them in carbonite, the pointless rewards. It all seemed so juvenile, now. He was beyond that.</p><p>But it was all he knew.</p><p>“There’s no Guild on Nevarro anymore,” Cara said. “It left with the reconstruction of the city. Too upscale for it now.”</p><p>“Then I’ll go somewhere else,” Din said through gritted teeth, done with their conversation.</p><p>“Where? Carajam? I’d say Tattooine, but there isn’t one there anymore.”</p><p>“I’ll find one,” he snapped.</p><p>Cara pressed her lips into a line before she uncrossed her arms and shifted her weight, standing straight. “There are other options, you know. Better and safer options.”</p><p>Din didn’t say anything.</p><p>“Join the New Republic with me,” Cara said, softer than before. “You’ve seen what the Empire did, and what it’ll continue to do if we don’t snuff it out. If you help me take Gideon to Dathomir, to the prison there, you could start to make a name for yourself. Hell, maybe you’d ever get a higher position than me, one that sees more action and pays better. There are options—”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Cara huffed. “Come on, at least think—”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Mando—”</p><p>“I said no.”</p><p>Cara sighed. “Dank farrik, you’re stubborn.”</p><p>Din didn’t respond.</p><p>“So… bounty hunting?”</p><p>Din resisted the urge to sigh. “Bounty hunting.”</p><p>—</p><p>An indeterminate amount of time later, everyone retired to their bunks to sleep.</p><p>Din knew that sleep would be elusive that night, but he at least attempted to fall into unconsciousness. The darkness only brought memories and thoughts, all surrounding Grogu. </p><p>He thought of what he might be doing at that present moment. Was he still on that Jedi’s X-Wing, or had they reached their destination, wherever that may be? Was he asleep, big eyes shut tight, or was he awake, cooing quietly? Was he hungry? Was he cold?</p><p>Was he scared?</p><p>Din rolled over in his cot, sighing heavily through his nose. He needed his brain to quiet long enough for him to get a few standard hours of rest, but it seemed like he was destined to agonize over the same things repeatedly until he slowly went insane.</p><p>He shut his eyes once more, fruitlessly attempting sleep again—</p><p>Without warning, he was pulled from his bunk.</p><p>A lifetime of training was the only thing that kept him from making noise in shock as he hit the floor, the sound of beskar meeting durasteel piercing the quiet. He struggled to reestablish his equilibrium, caught completely off guard.</p><p>Above him stood Bo-Katan, armored and silent.</p><p>“What the—” Din started, confused, but quickly cut off when he realized that Bo-Katan was pulling a weapon from her belt.</p><p>He dodged, rolling over to avoid the silenced laser bolt that she’d aimed towards him. He pushed off the ground, getting to his feet.</p><p>“Have you lost your mind?!” Din said, moving to the side to avoid the left hook she threw at him. She aimed a kick towards his stomach, but he dodged that as well, twisting his torso.</p><p>“Why the hell do you sleep in your armor?” Bo-Katan snarled. Din ducked as she attempted to punch him again, and he swept his leg underneath her, trying to knock her down.</p><p>She fell but instantly tucked into a roll. He turned around quickly, but not before she had fired her whipcord, which wound his knees together, knocking him bodily to the floor.</p><p>With a flick of his gauntlet, he activated his flamethrower. It singled the whipcord, disintegrating it enough to fall from his legs. Bo-Katan growled, and Din got back to his feet, holding out his hands.</p><p>The lights came on, then, showering them both in fluorescent white. Cara was stood by the switch, eyes squinted and armor off. “What in the universe is going on?”</p><p>Bo-Katan shifted towards him like she was going to attack again, and Din raised his gauntlets, prepared to block. </p><p>“Look,” he said, talking quickly. “If you want the Darksaber, then take it. I don’t want it. It’s yours.”</p><p>“It doesn’t work like that,” she growled.</p><p>Din lowered his gauntlets, unclipped the Darksaber from his belt, and tossed it on the ground. “There. It’s yours. I yield this fight.”</p><p>Bo-Katan stood there, silent and menacing. Din slowly got down on his knees—a sign of complete surrender.</p><p>“I’m not going to let you kill me for it,” Din told her, “but I have no interest in being the Mand’alor. <em>Ni dinu bah gar.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> </em></p><p>Bo-Katan looked down at him for a long moment. No one in the room moved.</p><p>Then, she slowly bent down and picked up the Darksaber, holding it in her gloved hand. She ignited it, and the black blade slowly unfurled from the handle. It was beauty and menace, elegance and power, all combined into one deadly weapon.</p><p>“I don’t understand why one wouldn’t want the power of Mand’alor,” she murmured, turning the blade over in her hand. “You’re a fool for giving away the title you won.”</p><p>Din gritted his teeth, his hands clenching. “I don’t want anything,” he spit the words out like they were being clawed from his lungs. “There is nothing in this galaxy I desire anymore. The saber is yours.”</p><p>Bo-Katan looked at the saber, glowing and ethereal, for another long moment, before the blade disappeared with a whoosh, extinguished.</p><p>“You are welcome on Mandalore, once it is rebuilt,” she said to him. Din got to his feet, pulling himself out of the degrading position he was in before. Cara’s gaze bored into the side of his helmet. He ignored it in favor of shaking his head.</p><p>“I have no business there. The resurrection of Mandalore is your suicide mission, not mine. When we part ways, it will be the last time you ever see me.”</p><p>He could feel the displeasure radiating from her, but he didn’t care. Instead, he walked back to his bunk, climbed in, and closed the privacy curtain before anything else could be said. He laid in the darkness and breathed, waiting for his heart to stop racing.</p><p>—</p><p>Nevarro greeted them with strangely sunny skies.</p><p>It was almost as if the planet was taunting him, with the warm temperatures and abundant sunshine. He longed for clouds to mar the sultry blue skies, for the hot planet to turn bitterly cold. A physical manifestation of the grief clawing his insides.</p><p>But no—the weather emanated joy and warmth, while he felt nothing but frigid sorrow and loss.</p><p>The lack of sleep only made the feelings of grief stronger. The numbness had faded, and it’s withdrawal left him feeling like someone had ripped off his arm, leaving behind nothing but raw exposed nerves and sinew.</p><p>The last time he’d been to Nevarro, he’d had the kid with him. It had been sunny then, too. He’d blown up some TIE fighters. Grogu ate too many cookies and had vomited on his robes.</p><p>He gritted his teeth. Perhaps someday he could look back at those memories with fondness rather than agony, but that day was yet to come.</p><p>Slave I touched down neatly on the rocky surface. Din pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against and moved towards the exit.</p><p>Greef Karga was waiting at the end of the ramp, peering up at Slave I with a look of contemplation. His face lit up when he saw Din, followed closely behind by Cara, but then his brows furrowed when his gaze fell upon Din’s empty arms.</p><p>“Where’s the child?” he asked immediately.</p><p>“Gone,” Din answered shortly, his boots touching down onto the dark, volcanic rock.</p><p>“Gone?!” Greef repeated, outraged. “You mean he’s—”</p><p>“Did I say dead? No. I said gone. He’s gone," Din snapped.</p><p>Karga didn’t seem to understand. He stared at Din with his mouth half open.</p><p>“It’s a long story,” Cara added behind him, just as the sound of several pairs of footfalls against durasteel filtered in through his helmet. He turned and saw the rest of the passengers aboard Slave I descend the ramp, Bo-Katan and Koska trailing behind Boba Fett and Fennec.</p><p>Boba came to a stop in front of Din, and the two stared at each other a moment before Din broke the silence.</p><p>“Thank you for your help. Your assistance was crucial.”</p><p>Boba inclined his head. “Thank you for my armor.”</p><p>Din nodded, watching as Fennec came to stand next to the bounty hunter.</p><p>“My debt to you has been repaid,” he said evenly. “Fennec and I will be departing for Tattooine.”</p><p>Tattooine. Din had no idea what business the man had on that dustbowl of a planet, and he was loath to find out. “I wish you luck.”</p><p>Boba nodded, and the pair made their way back up the ramp, which retracted once they were on the ship. Bo-Katan and Koska barely spared him a glance as they walked towards the city, the Darksaber clipped to the former’s belt. Din watched her go, wondering if he would truly ever see them again. He hoped not.</p><p>“I need a ship,” Din said, turning to Cara and Greef.</p><p>“What happened to the Razor Crest?” Greef asked, shocked.</p><p>Din didn’t answer.</p><p>Cara said, “We have some ships, but they’re expensive.”</p><p>“I can pay.”</p><p>“They’re old, too.”</p><p>“I don’t care.”</p><p>“Pre-Empire old.”</p><p>“Cara.”</p><p>The shocktrooper sighed. “Alright. Just… stay awhile first?”</p><p>The thought of spending more than a few hours on Nevarro made his stomach turn. “No.”</p><p>“Mando—”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Cara scowled at him. “Fine. To the hangar, then, if you’re so intent on leaving.”</p><p>Din scowled back at her underneath his helmet as she turned and stalked forward, fists clenched at her sides.</p><p>She led him to the hangar, which was on the outskirts of the city. Greef trailed behind them, an uncertain presence.</p><p>“Do you even know where the hell you’re going?” she shot at him as the hangar came into view.</p><p>Din didn’t answer.</p><p>“I’ll take that as a no, then. So, what, you’re just going to go off bounty hunting? Just like that?”</p><p>“Bounty hunting?” Greef said, surprised.</p><p>Din responded with silence.</p><p>“You’re going back to bounty hunting?”</p><p>“Apparently,” Cara said. “I offered him a job in the New Republic and everything. Didn’t take it.”</p><p>“I have no interest in the New Republic,” Din growled.</p><p>“Oh, so then you’re content with the Empire still existing?” Cara rounded on him furiously, and for a moment, Din thought she was going to hit him.</p><p>Din clenched his jaw. “I don’t like the Empire, and I never have. But I’m not joining the New Republic. There is no place for me there.”</p><p>Cara glared at him a long moment before turning away, continuing in their trek. He and Greef shared a look before continuing off after her. A few ticks later, they entered the large hangar.</p><p>It was cool, dark, and half-empty, with an extremely poor selection of starships.</p><p>Cara hadn’t been bluffing about the fact that they were all pre-Empire. There were two starfighters, each equipped to hold only a pilot and an astromech droid, a space shuttle, and a single, dusty-looking gunship all the way at the end. </p><p>He paid the starfighters no mind, as he had no use for a small ship made for combat, and bypassed the space shuttle completely, not needing something bulky and awkward either. He made his way over to the old gunship, taking in its chipped blue and white paint and ancient twin engines.</p><p>“That’s an R-13 Galactic Republic gunship,” Greef supplied from next to him. “Based on the model, I’d say it was from Coruscant.”</p><p>Din’s eyes skimmed over the body of the ship, his gaze landing on the strange, navy blue insignia on the side. It was almost like the Rebel Alliance starbird, but not quite—the hollow moon shape was modified to look like Phoenix wings, and the three middle prongs were replaced with a single line, long and pointed, almost like the that of a sword. There was a star dividing that sword-like line, right where hilt would meet blade.</p><p>Din found himself staring at it, oddly drawn to the elegant symbol.</p><p>“Do you recognize that insignia?” Din asked Greef, not looking away from it.</p><p>“Can’t say I do. Looks a bit like the Rebel starbird.”</p><p>“Cara? Does it look familiar to you?”</p><p>Cara peered up at it. “No. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”</p><p>Din’s eyes traced the curves and lines of the emblem once more. “Where’d you get this ship?”</p><p>Cara looked at him weirdly. “We found it half-buried in the ground, pretty far out. It had to have been there a long time since the make is one I’ve never seen before.”</p><p>Din considered the craft, before turning to Greef. “How much for it?”</p><p>Greef blew out a breath. “Well, I’d say about twenty-thousand credits, since it seems to be in decent shape overall—”</p><p>Din’s stomach sank.<em> Dammit.</em></p><p>“But for you, my friend… I’ll give it for free.”</p><p>Cara whipped around to stare at Greef. Din blinked, surprised.</p><p>“Free?”</p><p>“Free. You saved this planet from Imperial rule—the least I can do is give you a ship.”</p><p>Din glanced at Cara, and saw that she clearly didn’t like it. Din wondered if it was against the law, giving one a ship free of charge.</p><p>Greef held out his arm, and Din grasped it, the gesture both sealing the deal and showing his gratitude. The man then reached into his pocket and pulled out a fob, holding it out for Din to take. He accepted it, pressing a button and watching as the ramp extruded from the ship, the door whooshing open.</p><p>He boarded, boots clanking on metal.</p><p>The inside of the ship was dated but in strangely good condition. Other than a thick layer of dust, the ship was pristine—the two bunks looked untouched, the vac-tube looked unused, and even the controls were in extremely good condition. There were no fingerprint grease stains on the buttons, and when he flicked one of the switches, there wasn’t any stiffness or resistance.</p><p>It made him feel strangely at home. The Covert had always been spotless due to the fact that Mandalorians kept things extremely neat, and the ship embodied that same ritualistic sense of cleanliness.</p><p>He heard footsteps behind him, and he instantly recognized them as Cara’s. “Are you off, then?”</p><p>Din turned to face her. She was leaning against the doorway to the cockpit, arms crossed. “Yes.”</p><p>She nodded, face impassive. “Just… promise me you won’t do something stupid.”</p><p>He could tell that she was worried about him. It was written in the lines on her face, in the forced casualness of her stance. She didn’t want him to leave, and it wasn’t because she wanted him to join the New Republic—no, it wasn’t because of that at all.</p><p>She was worried he was going to go on a job and get himself killed.</p><p>A part of him rankled at that. He was a Mandalorian, for galaxy’s sake—he was part of the most skilled and elite group of fighters in the galaxy. There were few things that could kill him, and certainly not bail-jumper on some Outer Rim planet. He’d been bounty hunting his entire life. It wasn’t like he was an amateur.</p><p>But at the same time, maybe she was right to be worried about him. He’d never been more off-balance in his life, and a part of him wanted to take his new ship and fly it into the sun. He felt unsure and unsteady, lost and reckless.</p><p>He didn’t have anyone to… come home to, anymore. That was something to worry about.</p><p>“I won’t,” he said, wishing that he could promise it.</p><p>She watched him for a long moment, and he stared down at the controls, feeling the weight of her gaze.</p><p>“Just remember that he’s not dead,” she said softly. “His heart still beats. He still needs you.”</p><p>Din swallowed hard. His right hand twitched, tightening on the backrest of the pilot’s seat. He said nothing.</p><p>“So don’t get your head cut off on some dirtball, okay?” She stood straight, letting her arms fall. “And come visit once in a while. Don’t be a stranger, Mando.”</p><p>He nodded, knowing that it would be a long time before he came back to Nevarro. “Take care, Cara.”</p><p>She pressed her lips together and nodded once. She stared at him a second more, before leaving his new ship.</p><p>When Din’s ship tore into the atmosphere, he watched as her form grew smaller, until she became nothing more than a dot in his vision, a tan speck on the black rocks of Nevarro.</p><p>The stars greeted him familiarly, and Din greeted them the same. He settled into the pilot's chair, surprised at its stiffness, watching as Nevarro grew further and further away. He took off his helmet, setting it on the passenger seat, and watched the black expanse of space with his own, naked eyes.</p><p>He shifted his weight, seeking comfort, and felt something round and awkward in his pocket. Brows furrowing, he reached into the pockets of his pants and withdrew a small, shiny metal ball.</p><p>He held it with his thumb and forefinger and stared at it for a long moment. It shone in the milky light of the ship, silhouetted by the soft glow of space.</p><p>In his mind, he saw Grogu’s tiny clawed hands close around it, pressing it to his wrinkled mouth. He saw his eyes, dark and wide, staring at it like it held the answers to the Universe, like it was the best thing he’d ever seen. He saw it fly through the air, pulled by some unknown force, only to end up in that same small hand, cradled gently between impossibly tiny fingers.</p><p>The ball grew unfocused in his vision as his throat tightened, his lower lip trembling. He rolled the ball down to his palm, squeezing it tightly in his fist.</p><p>He stared back out at the immensity of space, letting the stars get blurrier and blurrier until they were indistinguishable—just tiny, swirling pinpricks of light etched into his pupils, the markings of a galaxy so harsh and unforgiving, to take the only living thing that carried purpose and steal it, cruelly and without preamble, away from him.</p><p>--</p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> “I give it to you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for all the love you guys showed for the prologue. I'm really excited to be writing this fic!<br/>As always, feedback is much appreciated! I'll see you all soon :)<br/>Follow me on tumblr: <a href="https://thestarvingwriter.tumblr.com/">The Starving Writer</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Call</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <i>"It was an inexplicable sensation, one that he’d been feeling for the last month but had suppressed, burying it underneath the monotony of bounty hunting. But now it felt inescapable, like an invisible force had sunk its claws into him and was pulling him bodily towards The Galactic City. It felt illogically necessary for him to go there, and as soon as possible."</i>
</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Whew! This one took awhile! I had to delve pretty deep into Star Wars lore for this chapter. I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ibaar was mountainous, rocky, and isolated.</p><p>It was also, consequently, the furthest place from Nevarro that had a Bounty Hunter’s Guild. Din had considered Carajam, but then decided that it was too populated, and settled on Ibaar.</p><p>It was a planet deep in the Outer Rim, and was newly under New Republic control. It had been overtaken by Imperials before the war had started, only to be retaken by the Rebels after the final battle on Endor.</p><p>Din's ship—which he found was named the <em>Visionary</em>—exploded into the cloudy atmosphere, traveling deftly in between enormous mountains, before gently touching down in one of the shipyards, squeezing in between a beautiful yacht and a run-down clanker.</p><p>He got up out of the pilot seat and instinctively traveled to the back of the ship. He had spent the day of travel trying to familiarize himself with his new purchase. In his hunt to understand the ins and outs of his new, makeshift home, he found out quickly that while the <em>Visionary</em> did have carbonite function, the machinery wasn’t as advanced as it was on the <em>Razor Crest. </em>He had no way of checking its operation either unless he himself wanted to be frozen, so he just hoped that it would function properly when he needed it to.</p><p>He also found no trace of the person who owned the ship before him, which he found incredibly peculiar. Based on the information that Cara had given him, about the placement of the ship in the rocks, it sounded like the previous owner had crash-landed… but there was no evidence that they had died upon impact. There were no splatters of blood, no dents in the interior. It was strange.</p><p>He entertained the thoughts for a little bit, wondering about the stranger who considered the <em>Visionary </em>home before him, but then dismissing it as a mystery that he would never solve.</p><p>Currently, he was seeking the case of weapons that he’d collected in his many years of bounty hunting, and he was nearly halfway to the spot where they would have been kept on the <em>Razor Crest</em> before he realized that all of his weapons were ash, staining the grassy surface of Tython.</p><p>The realization hit surprisingly hard. A hollow feeling filled his chest briefly, but then he stubbornly brushed the feelings aside and left the ship, seeking distraction.</p><p>The shipyard was close to the city of Vond, where the Guild operated. He set off towards the cantina swiftly—he wanted to get his tracking fobs as quickly as possible and leave.</p><p>Civilians stared at him as he passed. Their eyes tracked his movements, drawn to the shiny beskar covering his body. It was likely that most of them had never seen a Mandalorian before—they were few in number, and Ibaar was deep into the Outer Rim, far away from where Mandalore used to be.</p><p>He idly wondered if they were scared of him.</p><p>A muscular Zabrak looked at him threateningly, yellow eyes glaring as he walked by. A slight trickle of alarm ran through Din, and his gloved hand immediately flew to his bag at his hip, where Grogu was situated.</p><p>Fingers met air, and he remembered that the child was gone once more.</p><p>He dropped his arm quickly, swallowing. He quickened his pace.</p><p>The cantina that the Guild operated out of was a skug hole at best. Not only was it dark, but it was vivacious, loud, and packed to the brim with hunters and civilians alike. The alcohol was flowing, the scent of strong hooch and tangy sweat mixing unpleasantly in the humid air. It filtered into his helmet and he instinctively wrinkled his nose.</p><p>He scanned his surroundings swiftly, eyes darting from person to person, from hunter to hunter. A half-naked dancer caught his eye and beckoned him towards her with a long, violet finger. Her red lips were curved into a seductive smile, but Din didn't pay her any attention, gaze passing over her head.</p><p>There was a male Twi’lek sitting alone at one of the tables. Based on his getup, Din immediately knew that he was an agent, and he started towards him, avoiding the scantily clad women dancing and the angry men shoving at each other near the bar.</p><p>The man looked up sharply when Din took a seat on the stool across from him, eyes widening as he took in the shining beskar.</p><p>“Are you an agent?” Din asked.</p><p>He stared for a second longer, before nodding. “You looking for bounties?”</p><p>Din gave a curt nod. The Twi’lek studied him for a moment more, before reaching into his pockets. Din’s hand slid to his blaster, wary.</p><p>A puck was laid on the table. “Smuggler. Two thousand.”</p><p>“Anything else?”</p><p>He looked vaguely surprised, but reached into his pocket and withdrew two more pucks. “Fugitive.” He pointed to the first one. “And another smuggler. Four thousand for both.”</p><p>Din gritted his teeth. “Anything more interesting?”</p><p>The agent looked displeased. “There are other people in the Guild.”</p><p>“I don’t care.”</p><p>“The number of bounties have dried up with the fall of the Empire. I’m afraid this is most of what I have.”</p><p>“Most,” Din said evenly. “Not all. What’s your last one?”</p><p>The last puck was slammed onto the table. “Imperial warlord on the planet Serenno. Wanted by the New Republic. Fifteen thousand.”</p><p>Now <em>that </em>was more his speed. In a single movement, he swept all of the pucks towards him, activating the first one. The ugly face of a Clawdite flashed in front of him, and he deactivated it, sliding it to the side and turning on the second one.</p><p>The face of Migs Mayfeld erupted from the puck.</p><p>He nearly flinched, the unexpectedness of seeing the man he’d left behind on Morak unsettling. He read the writing underneath his rotating head. <em>Inmate 34667. Wanted for escaping the Karthon Crop fields. Reward: 2,000 credits.</em></p><p>He raised his eyebrows. How the New Republic knew he was alive was completely beyond him, especially after Cara spun the story of him dying in the explosion on Morak. Perhaps the former mercenary wasn’t laying as low as he should be.</p><p>Whatever the case was, Din knew was that he wouldn’t be the one to turn Mayfeld in.</p><p>He slid the puck back across the table, into the palm of the agent. The man raised his eyebrows.</p><p>“I don’t want that one,” Din said, activating the next two, before pocketing the lot. “Do you have the tracking fobs?”</p><p>The Twi’lek glared at him as he handed them over. “Congratulations, Mandalorian,” he said evenly. “You’ve just made an enemy of everyone in this Guild.”</p><p>Din raised his eyebrows, hand closing around the fobs. He said nothing.</p><p>“You cleaned me out, save for one lousy fugitive,” the agent said coolly. “You’d best watch your back.”</p><p>Din stood. “Not my problem.”</p><p>As he left the cantina, he felt the weight of several gazes. They were searching him, tracking his movements and body language, looking for a weakness, a flaw in the flawless beskar.</p><p>Din’s right hand did not stray from his blaster.</p><p>—</p><p>Within a few months, loneliness threatened to swallow him whole.</p><p>Despite its monotony, Din found himself clinging to the repetitiveness of bounty hunting. It was a cycle; go to Ibaar, clean out an agent’s entire supply of pucks, waste enormous amounts of fuel traveling to several different Outer Rim planets, capture the bounty, and then return to the mountainous planet, only to do the same thing.</p><p>It was thankless, tiring work. He often retired to his bunk sore in a way that he hadn’t been in a long time, but when it came time for him to get some rest, he found that sleep evaded him. On a good night, he managed to get a few hours, but those were few and far between and often punctured with strange dreams and nightmares. He often laid awake on the <em>Visionary, </em>staring at the steel ceiling above him, listening to the melodic hum of the ship. It hid the suffocating silence of space well, but he still felt alone.</p><p>Cara had tried to contact him a total of six times in the few months that he’d been gone, but he didn’t answer any of them. He couldn’t talk to her. Especially now, when the strange grief of giving up Grogu was still ripping him apart, carving up his insides. He was afraid of what he would say.</p><p>Eight and a half standard months in, he was traveling away from Ibaar with a pocket full of bounty pucks. He was sat in pilot seat, the electric blue blur of hyperspace reflecting off his glassy, itchy eyes. His helmet was on the floor next to him, and he was absently rubbing at his wrists to relieve the bone-deep ache that had taken root there, a headache blooming in his right temple.</p><p>As a whole, his body pained him. It felt like every inch of his being was sore and battered, and the lack of sleep only made the pain more pronounced. With a sigh, he dropped his wrists and tipped his head back against the headrest.</p><p>He shut his eyes, slouching more in the uncomfortable seat. He lifted his legs off the ground and let them rest on the console, trying to dull the ache that radiated from them. Slowly, he let himself relax, chin dipping down to his beskar-covered chest, feeling the first tugs of sleep. He evened out his breathing, adjusting his position. His boots shifting on the console.</p><p>“—towards Felucia, Master. We are still awaiting orders from the Council.”</p><p>Din’s eyes flew open, and he immediately drew his blaster. Adrenaline rushed through him so violently that it made his body tingle, his pulse pounding fiercely in his ears.</p><p>The voice had come from the console, where a hologram had appeared. It was of a humanoid man, with dark hair and a scar sliced down the middle of his right eye. He was clad in rich brown robes, a dark tunic covering his torso. His stance exuded cockiness—there was hubris hidden in the way he held his body, shoulders back and chest puffed.</p><p>Din forced his breathing to even out, swallowing roughly as he took in the flickering hologram. He removed his hand from his right hip and leaned forward.</p><p>“We have the advantage in numbers right now, so it should be an easy fight. I have Master Kenobi and my Padawan with me, as well as the 212th and the 501st. I will contact you and your battalion if we need assistance.”</p><p>Din’s brows came together.</p><p>“Until then, may the Force be with you, Master.”</p><p>He blinked slowly as the hologram vanished, the silence ringing in its absence.</p><p>
  <em>May the Force be with you.</em>
</p><p>He leaned back in his chair slowly, processing what he’d just heard. Most of what the man said he could make sense of—there was a battle on Felucia that was about to happen, and he was informing the former pilot of the <em>Visionary </em>about their plans. This ship must have been truly old, since—if memory served—there hadn’t been a New Republic battle on Felucia. And certainly not one big enough to merit troops. They must have been talking about the Clone Wars—which he shamefully knew very little about.</p><p>Din huffed out an irritated breath. It was times like these that he wished he had a broader understanding of the galaxy and its history. Though his teachings in the Covert touched on some aspects of galactic history, it was always focused around Mandalorians, or Mandalore. His knowledge beyond that was lacking.</p><p>He propped his head up with his fist, staring out into hyperspace. The man had mentioned a council… what council? And what did “Padawan” mean? He’d never heard the phrase before, even though the word sounded like it was a part of the Basic vernacular. And why did the man referred to the pilot as “master,” when he clearly wasn’t a slave?</p><p>Frustrated, he leaned forward and started randomly pressing things on the console, trying to conjure up the hologram once more.</p><p>A small button next to the comm unit did it. Another flickering blue man appeared, dressed similarly as the other one, with his hands buried in the sleeves of his robes. He carried himself far differently—this man held himself up with dignity and elegance, rather than swagger and arrogance.</p><p>The first words of his statement were garbled, but then the signal seemed to even out, and Din could understand every word of his precisely accented speech.</p><p>“—on Nevarro, Master. If assistance is needed, Master Skywalker and Padawan Tano are in the next sector over, on Korriban.”</p><p>
  <em>Tano.</em>
</p><p>The breath fled from Din’s lungs. His eyes immediately darted to the holographic man’s waist, and sure enough, there was one of those laser swords—the weapon that he’d first seen on Corvus when it attempted to cut through his beskar, and had last seen mere minutes before Grogu was taken from him, slicing through Dark Troopers like they were nothing but raw Bantha meat—clipped to his utility belt.</p><p>A strange pit opened in his stomach, and he swallowed hard. <em>Jedi. They’re Jedi.</em></p><p>“—Force be with you, Master,” the holographic Jedi said, before disappearing. Din rubbed his fingers on his lips, heart rabbiting in his chest.</p><p>This ship used to belong to a Jedi. The realization made his scalp prickle, a chill race down his spine. The Armorer’s words rang in his ears, <em>“an order of sorcerers.”</em></p><p>Before he could process the information he’d just received, his comm unit lit up, signaling an incoming message. A quick look at it told him that it was Cara, once again trying to reach him.</p><p>He considered rejecting her communications again, but perhaps she could provide some insight. He reached down, grabbed his helmet, and slid it over his head, before reaching out and accepting her call.</p><p>Instantly, her form appeared in holographic blue. She had her arms crossed, her expression one of extreme annoyance.</p><p>“Oh, so he lives,” Cara said, and Din immediately knew that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant call.</p><p>“Cara—”</p><p>“You better have a damn good excuse for ignoring my calls, Mando.”</p><p>“I was busy.”</p><p>“Uh huh,” she squinted at him. “And you couldn’t find the time to chat?”</p><p>“No,” he said shortly, before swiftly changing the subject. “Are you sure you don’t know anything else about this ship? Its—its previous owner, perhaps?”</p><p>She blinked, the annoyance replaced with confusion.  “Uh, no? I told you, we found it half-buried in the rock—”</p><p>“Does Karga know anything about it? He’s been on Nevarro longer than you. Can you ask him?”</p><p>“Hang on.” She held up a hand. “Why are you so obsessed with it? It’s just a ship.”</p><p>Din dragged his tongue over his front teeth, before saying slowly, “I just found some old holograms. They were… odd.”</p><p>“Odd how?”</p><p>“Just… odd.”</p><p>Cara raised her eyebrows. “Did a bounty knock your helmet loose, or something? You’re being weird.”</p><p>“No. I’m fine.”</p><p>“Then what’s the deal?”</p><p>Her voice softened slightly with concern, and he knew he probably sounded crazy to her. After all, he’d ignored her comm calls for months, and when he finally answered, he bombarded her with pointless questions about his spaceship.</p><p>He sighed. “I think this ship used to belong to a Jedi.”</p><p>Cara’s head jerked back. “What?”</p><p>“The holograms that I found. They were of Jedi.”</p><p>“Are you sure?”</p><p>Din nodded stiffly.</p><p>“Okay…” Cara said slowly, forehead crinkling. “But why does it matter?”</p><p>Din’s eyes widened. “Why does it matter? Cara, I just spent two years of my life wandering the galaxy trying to find one!”</p><p>“But you ended up finding one to train the kid, so why does it matter anymore?”</p><p>He opened his mouth, but slowly let it close again, unable to come up with a response.</p><p>Because she was right—why <em>did </em>it matter anymore?</p><p>He’d completed his task, his final mission. Grogu was back with his kind, in the form of a sandy-haired, blue-eyed sorcerer. There was no reason to care about Jedi anymore. It was over.</p><p>“I… don’t know,” Din said slowly.</p><p>Cara peered at him, dark eyes searching. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. “You know what I think?”</p><p>Din didn’t say anything, and Cara took it as an affirmative to go on. “I think your mind is trying to find the kid, without you realizing. So, when you heard Jedi, you immediately linked it to him, and thought of it as a lead to where he is.”</p><p>Din shook his head. “No. That’s not it.”</p><p>“I think it is.”</p><p>“It’s not.”</p><p>“Grief shows itself in different ways,” Cara said, and then sighed. “Force, I sound like a kriffing therapist.”</p><p>“It’s not grief. I know what grief is, and this isn’t it.” It was true. Grief was what kept him from sleeping, was what made his body ache and head hurt. Grief was what made him glance at the passenger seat every so often, only to have the empty chair steal his breath and tighten his chest.</p><p>He knew grief personally, intimately—and the strange pull he felt towards the insignia on his ship, towards the holograms that he found, was not it. “I feel like there’s… something calling out to me. Something to do with the Jedi, something to do with this ship.”</p><p>Cara nodded, and Din knew that he’d completely lost her. He suppressed a sigh.</p><p>“You should come visit,” Cara said.</p><p>“No. I’m on a job.”</p><p>“After that, then.”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>Cara huffed. “Well if you’re not going to visit, at least answer your damn comm unit.”</p><p>His chest tightened. Perhaps he shouldn’t have ignored her for eight months. If it had been the other way around, he would’ve dropped everything and headed straight to Nevarro, job be damned. “I will.”</p><p>“Be careful, Mando.”</p><p>He nodded and the call ended, Cara’s blue form disappearing.</p><p>He stared at the comm unit for a long time after. The bounty pucks felt heavy in his pocket, the purr of the ship overly loud.</p><p>He sat back in his chair, blowing out a breath.</p><p><em>“He was raised on the Jedi Temple on Coruscant,” </em>Ahsoka Tano had said to him, that one night on Corvus.</p><p><em>Coruscant. </em>Greef had told him that the <em>Visionary </em>was originally from Coruscant too, on Nevarro.</p><p>He’d only been to the planet once before, on Underworld business a few years prior. He much preferred the Outer Rim Territories to the Core Worlds—they were always too populated, too patrolled, unlike the Outer Rim, which was far more lawless.</p><p>He had no business on Coruscant. The bounties he had were all located on planets in the Outer and Mid Rim, and it was likely that the city was still crawling with Imps, despite the New Republic retaking it five years ago.</p><p>There was absolutely no reason for him to travel to Coruscant.</p><p>Yet… it felt like he <em>should </em>go there.</p><p>It was an inexplicable sensation, one that he’d been feeling for the last month but had suppressed, burying it underneath the monotony of bounty hunting. But now it felt inescapable, like an invisible force had sunk its claws into him and was pulling him bodily towards The Galactic City. It felt illogically necessary for him to go there, and as soon as possible.</p><p>He sat rigidly for several seconds more, his breaths too heavy and heart beating too fast, before he leaned forward, manually pulling the <em>Visionary </em>out of hyperspace.</p><p>The ship slammed into realspace and Din was greeted with the sight of absolute blackness, the dark only disrupted by the tiny pinpricks of stars. He did nothing for a long moment, before he swallowed around his dry throat and reached for the nav computer.</p><p>He typed in the coordinates <em>0, 0, 0</em>, and paused, briefly wondering what in the galaxy he was doing.</p><p><em>I have to, </em>he thought desperately. <em>I don’t know why, but I have to.</em></p><p>Gritting his teeth, he pulled down the hyperdrive lever and the <em>Visionary </em>punched into lightspeed, rocketing towards the center of the galaxy.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hmm, what could be the strange force pulling him towards Coruscant 🤔<br/>I'm kind of saying "fuck it" to canon next chapter, so fair warning. Canon just doesn't fit into the plot I have in mind, so I'll be taking some liberties. Next chapter is also going to be pretty dark, just as an fyi. I should have it out within the week :D<br/>As always, feedback is much appreciated! I'll see you guys next week!<br/>Follow me on tumblr: <a href="https://thestarvingwriter.tumblr.com/">The Starving Writer</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The Vision</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <i>“Listen, lady, you have to move,” Din said, walking down the ramp to where she stood, hands buried in the sleeves of her robes. He noticed absently that she was a Pantoran—her wrinkled cerulean skin contrasted strangely with the long white hair that spilled from the hood of her brown robes, which concealed her eyes. “I’m trying to—”</i>
</p><p>  <i>“I’ve been looking for you, Lord Mand’alor.”</i></p><p>  <i>Din froze. His heart skipped a beat in his chest, breath whooshing from his lungs. “What did you just call me?”</i></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This took me forever to write, so sorry for how long it took to get it out. I hope you enjoy!<br/>Thank you to @sophia_gigante for being my beta on this chapter.<br/><b>Warning:</b> The end of this chapter is pretty dark. Check the end notes for trigger warnings.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In the depths of hyperspace, Din Djarin dreamed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dreamed of cold steel and sputtering engines, of patchwork repairs and glowing switches. He dreamed in swirling color, in greens, tans, and browns, in shining chromatics and muted grays.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dreamed that Grogu’s tiny head was tucked underneath his chin, his deep, sleeping breaths fogging the reflective surface of his chest piece. Every so often his ears would twitch—a small, fleeting movement, so slight that it was nearly invisible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then everything was frozen. He was on the icy planet that the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest </span>
  </em>
  <span>had crash-landed on, and the wind howled, ringing in his ears. His helmet was off—why was his helmet off? The cold nipped at his bare face, flushing his cheeks and chapping his lips, the chill seeping through his beskar and into the skin below.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he was running, boots slipping on wet snow, ice spiders on his heels. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Grogu, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought desperately. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where is Grogu? </span>
  </em>
  <span>The spiders were fast, their long, spindly legs propelling them rapidly forward—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he was on Tython, and Grogu was rising into the periwinkle blue sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He opened his mouth in a shout, but no sound came out. The Dark Trooper clutching Din’s child in his arms looked down from above, red eyes glaring as its mechanical mouth opened and spoke three words, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Coruscant. Level thirteen-thirteen.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Din woke with a yell on his lips and his heart in his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat upright in the pilot’s chair, gripping the armrests tightly as he gulped in air, trying to calm his racing pulse. He ran a trembling hand through his sweaty hair, chest heaving.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he was calm enough to think straight, he leaned back against the seat, breathing heavily through his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell was that?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew it was a dream, but it didn’t quite feel like one. He often dreamt of Grogu and his kidnapping on Tython, and it wasn’t abnormal for him to be chased by some unknown entity—this time, it seemed, it was ice spiders—but the last part didn’t even feel like it came from his own mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Coruscant. Level thirteen-thirteen.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He scrubbed a hand down his face, rubbing at his eyes. He wasn’t tired anymore—a quick look at his chronometer told him that he’d gotten eight standard hours of rest—but he felt worn, achy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps he was finally going insane, he mused. He’d had a good thirty-eight standard years of sanity, so it seemed oddly appropriate that he would finally start to go crazy around forty. Who would have thought losing Grogu would be the final straw, the final blow to the rational part of his brain?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His nav computer beeped, and he cast his gaze towards it, reading the flashing numbers. He realized that he needed to jump into realspace soon, as Coruscant was only a few parsecs away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He still had no idea why he decided to forgo his bounties and travel to the center of the galaxy. It seemed foolish, now that he’d actually gotten some sleep, but he pulled up the hyperdrive lever, and the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>slammed into realspace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Though Din had been to the ecumenopolis before, it felt odd to see the planet that he’d seen so often on maps with his own naked eyes. It was large, blue, and streaked with clusters of city lights, the lines and circles making a sporadic, yet grid-like pattern. It held a strange sort of grandeur—the blinding luminosity of the Galactic City, the gentle rotation of the celestial body, and the notion that there were trillions of lives being lived there, each small glimmer of light representing a home, a business, a livelihood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With the planet in view, he felt the sensation of being pulled stronger than ever. It was the strangest thing he’d ever felt, almost like he was caught in a magnetic field… like something on the planet was tugging him, yanking him towards the city-covered surface.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It worried him more than he cared to admit, but he was powerless against its force. He gently accelerated, letting the ship jettison him forward, towards the beacon of artificial light that was the center of the galaxy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was mid-afternoon when Din entered the planet’s atmosphere, the singular sun shining brightly in the afternoon sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he was sitting in a stream of air-traffic, he came to the realization that he had no idea where to go on the planet. The Galactic City was massive, and he had no prior knowledge of the different sectors and areas, nor a map to help him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blew out a breath, tapping his finger impatiently on the controls. He still wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t going crazy—traveling to a planet on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>feeling </span>
  </em>
  <span>sounded precisely like something an insane person would do—and now that he was actually here, he felt foolish.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What am I doing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Din thought, inching his ship forward as an air taxi pulled out of the line of traffic.</span>
  <em>
    <span> There’s absolutely no reason for me to be here. I should be going to Dantooine, to collect that bail jumper. Not in the middle of the Galactic City, doing nothing but wasting my time.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He huffed, irritated. The air taxi moved forward again, and Din went to follow it, but suddenly, his ship couldn’t move.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to move the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>again, but the craft wouldn’t budge. He flipped a switch and attempted movement again, to no avail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His transmitter chimed just as an airspeeder pulled up next to him. Din squinted against the bright flashing blue and white lights emitting from the top of the craft and let the transmission come through with a click of a button.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“R-13, please identify yourself,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>said a robotic voice, tinny and mechanical through the outdated speakers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din stiffened, suddenly hit with the memories of X-Wings flanking the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Razor Crest, </span>
  </em>
  <span>of crash landings and high pitched squeals. He hesitantly replied, “This is R-13. Is there a problem?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Our sensors are detecting that the craft you are in is unauthorized</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You are operating a stolen vehicle.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Stolen? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I did not steal this ship,” Din said, an edge to his voice. “It was given to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a brief pause, and then the droid said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You are under arrest for the possession of a stolen vehicle. You will be escorted by the security force to the Ondar district police station. You have the—”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Din cut off the transmission and immediately grabbed the control lever, pushing it violently forward. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>sputtered but didn’t move. He swore loudly and flipped another switch, putting all the power into the accelerator.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>jolted, exiting out of the energy field that the police droids had cast over the ship, freeing it from its frozen state. Din grabbed the controller and pulled out of the stream of traffic, hurtling away from the stopped airspeeder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was difficult to fly fast on Coruscant. Everything was an obstacle, from the towering buildings to the plethora of ships. It was akin to flying through an asteroid field, except the asteroids were glass skyscrapers full of civilians, and even the slightest knock against one would cause the death of countless people.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gripped the controller tighter, glancing down at his radar. The airspeeder was following closely behind him, and Din clenched his jaw, swearing through his teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t steal the ship, for Force’s sake. Greef must have forgotten to register it in Din’s name after he gave it to him, which was such a gross oversight that it made his blood boil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he goes to Nevarro next, he’s going to shoot the man in the leg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din jerked the controller, swerving the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>around a large domed structure. He swore again when he saw a large clump of buildings ahead of him, too dense for him to safely travel through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Sithin’ kriffin’ hells,” Din cursed. “Why the <em>hell</em> did I come to Coruscant?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A skyscraper was approaching swiftly, and Din slowed the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>down to prevent a collision. He glanced at his radar once more—the airspeeder was still tailing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Out of options, Din angled the controller downward, and the ship immediately dropped, diving down deep into the lower levels of the Galactic City.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No sunlight came down to the undercity of Coruscant, and if Din hadn’t seen the afternoon sky with his own eyes just seconds before, he would have thought it to be the dead of night. It was dark and dingy, lit only by the vast array of neon signs and intermittent street lights powered by electrical boxes, giving yellow, artificial light to the bleak area. The surrounding buildings looked far more worn and dilapidated than the ones he’d woven through on the upper levels, and he saw far more signs for gentlemen’s clubs and cantinas than he did for restaurants and lounges.</span>
</p><p><span>He looked down at his radar once more and saw that two additional airspeeders had joined the chase.</span> <span>He could see their flashing lights in his peripheral vision, flickering blue and white.</span></p><p>
  <span>He cast his gaze out far in front of him. The police had said that he was in the Ondar District, but Din was unfamiliar with the area, and therefore at a complete loss as to where to go. There wasn’t immediately anything to hide behind, nor any sharp turns to take that would throw the speeders off his tail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then he looked down and saw an enormous ventilation shaft approaching, one that he knew would lead him farther down into the bowels of the Galactic City. It would be a perfect escape, but he knew that the speeders would only follow him down. Their movements were far more fluid than those of his gunship and could make turns and dips with ease.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He needed a distraction. And he needed one fast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Thinking quick, he scanned his surroundings for something that would cause enough commotion for the police to stop tailing him. Perhaps he could fly back up briefly and circle around, or fake them out somehow, or—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His gaze found a streetlight equipped with an electrical box approaching, one that undoubtedly gave power and light to the immediate area. It was his only shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He immediately turned off the two lights at the front of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary, </span>
  </em>
  <span>powered up the ship’s twin guns, aimed, and fired at the electrical box. He watched as it exploded into a shower of sparks before everything was engulfed in darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His radar showed that the airspeeders were still approaching, undeterred by the sudden blackout, but Din had a feeling that was going to happen. He prayed that his distance calculations had been correct, and dipped down into the ventilation shaft.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The shaft was dim, narrow, and seemingly endless. Din waited a few seconds to make sure he was far enough away from the surface before he turned the ship’s lights back on, illuminating the steel inside of the cylinder. He saw the end of it rapidly approaching, and he slowed his descent, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>gently coming to a stop at the bottom of the chute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A quick glance at the level that the ventilation had dumped him out in told him that he was definitely in the Underworld. There was a steady mix of droids and people mulling about, and based on the warning that was chiming on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the air was artificial and unclean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tore his gaze away from the seedy area in front of him and readied the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>for flight once more. He needed to figure out a way to get off of Coruscant without the law enforcement agency noticing him, but he knew it would be no easy feat. There was undoubtedly a warrant out for his arrest now—he’d be lucky to escape without being jailed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed heavily, starting up the engines and preparing for takeoff. He put all the power in the accelerators and readied—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a woman standing in front of his ship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din physically started, not expecting to see her there. He immediately powered down the engines to prevent from running her over, got up from his seat, and extended the exit ramp, intent on telling her off. His helmet chimed once when he stepped out onto the level, a warning that the oxygen wasn’t clean or plentiful enough for prolonged exposure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, lady, you have to move,” Din said, walking down the ramp to where she stood, hands buried in the sleeves of her robes. He noticed absently that she was a Pantoran—her wrinkled cerulean skin contrasted strangely with the long white hair that spilled from the hood of her brown robes, which concealed her eyes. “I’m trying to—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been looking for you, Lord Mand’alor.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din froze. His heart skipped a beat in his chest, breath whooshing from his lungs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you just call me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman’s indigo lips pulled into a small frown. “Mand’alor, the sole leader of the Mandalorians. Is that not you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. It’s not.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence. “You are Din Djarin, correct?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din’s eyes widened, and he took a step back. “How do you…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman smiled, before turning and walking a few paces. “I have been searching for you. Come, there isn’t much time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din blinked rapidly, before he shook his head. “Listen, I have no idea how you know my name, but I’m going to need you to get out of my way. I need to get off of Coruscant, they think I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you would please follow me, your Lordship.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din grimaced. “Don’t call me that, I’m not the Mand’alor. And did you hear me? There’s a warrant out for my arrest—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you come with me, you will have safe passage from Coruscant. I will ensure it.” The woman turned to face him. “I must show you something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din pressed his lips together and watched as the woman continued walking, before swearing quietly and pressing a button on his vambrace. It withdrew the ramp back into the ship, and the press of another button locked the craft down entirely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, he followed after her, through the dim alleys of the Underworld.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you were searching for me,” Din said, trailing slightly behind the Pantoran. “How did you find me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t find you,” she said, taking a sharp right. “I called out into the Force for you. It was what led you to me, to level thirteen-thirteen of Coruscant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Force. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“You are a Jedi, then,” Din said cautiously, coming to a stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned. “I was, at one point in my life. But I now follow my own path, which is created for me by the Force.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din stared at her a second longer, before he continued following in her wake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took him to a small, isolated outcrop, not far from where the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Visionary </span>
  </em>
  <span>was stopped. The area hung off the side of a dilapidated building and over a ravine, the bottom of which could not be seen. There was an ornate purple rug laid on the ground, and it looked out of place amongst the blackness of the ravine and the steel floor of the outcrop.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is this place?” Din asked, brow furrowing. He peered around, taking in the utter emptiness of the ravine below, and the dim light that came from the levels far above. It was the most secluded place that he’d seen on Coruscant, and the silence was so complete it was almost eerie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is my mediation garden,” the woman replied, taking a seat on the rug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din raised his eyebrows. “Not much of a garden.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is as much of one as I can get, on a planet such as this. Please, sit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din sat on the rug with her, crossing his legs. “Is this what you’ve come to show me? Your… meditation garden?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman smiled wanly, sliding her dark hood back. Eyes devoid of pupils stared at him, and he flinched backward, startled at their strangeness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am a Seer, Lord Mand’alor,” she said. “I have a unique connection to the Force that allows me to witness events before they happen.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He twitched, but decided to ignore her consistent addressing of him as Mand’alor. He’d already told her that she was mistaken twice—a third would just be a waste of oxygen. “What does this have to do with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned her eyes upon him, and Din felt a chill race down his spine. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Creepy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“I have recently had a vision that involves you. I felt that it was crucial for you to be aware of it. Please, let me show it to you.” She held out a slender blue hand, peering intensely at Din.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked away, unsettled, and turned his gaze to the grand ravine on his left. “If you show me this, then I’ll know something that happens in my future.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is correct."<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din chewed on the inside of his cheek before he stood in a fluid motion. “I’d rather not know, thank you. I think some things are best left up to chance. I’ll be going, now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to leave, stepping off the purple carpet, but then the Jedi said, “It’s not just about you, Lord Mand’alor. It is about your Foundling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din froze. A cold feeling washed over him as he managed to choke out, “About Grogu?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gave a single nod, before extending her hand again. “Please. I must show it to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din stared at the appendage, before swallowing hard and taking a seat once more. His heart was racing, and the same sensation of being unbalanced was back—it was like this Pantoran had ripped open the Grogu-shaped wound that was just beginning to heal, one so deep that it had taken eight months just to scab over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do I see it?” Din asked unsteadily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remove your glove, and give me your hand. Skin to skin contact is essential.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din hesitated for a brief moment, a habit after years of never showing his skin, before he removed his right glove and held out his bare hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Jedi closed her hand around his, and Din’s sight vanished.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blinked, once, and wasn’t on Coruscant anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was standing in the middle of an ornate temple, surrounded by towering statues and elegant marble columns, by polished floors and large, domed archways. There was a fountain in front of him, water flowing in elegant streams. It was silhouetted by a beautiful window, showcasing a dual-mooned sky.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din inhaled and was met with the smell of something burning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alarmed, he turned towards the source of the scent. Black, acrid smoke billowed down the brightly lit corridor, filling the surrouding area. Din watched as children in tan robes, some as young as toddlers and some as old as preteens, stumbled out of the smog.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What is this? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Din wondered as some of the children began running and others stopped to hack and cough. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where am I? What’s happening?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to move towards the kids, but he found that he was stuck in place, completely frozen. An explosion shook the temple, the polished floor vibrating beneath Din’s feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One Nautolen preteen emerged from the smoke. He was clutching a green laser sword in one webbed hand, and the expression on his young face was one of determination. “Go!” he called. “I can try to hold them off!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hold who off? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Din’s heart was starting to race again, an uneasy feeling churning in his gut. He scanned the smoke, looking for the source of the children’s fear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small, stumbling movement towards the bottom of the plumes caught his eye. He zeroed in on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Grogu.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Din’s stomach flipped, his breath catching in his throat. The kid looked almost exactly the same as he did when Din last saw him, on Moff Gideon’s light cruiser. He was dressed in nearly the same clothes, though the robe he was in was slightly lighter in color. He didn’t look any older—there were no new wrinkles on his tiny green face, nor did he appear to be any taller.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Grogu!” Din said aloud, but it was clear that no one could see or hear him. Grogu was running from the black smoke, coughing every so often. He made a frightened noise—one that Din had only heard a handful of times before—and looked behind him, large ears fluttering with the movement. Din followed his gaze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the clouds of acrid smoke, there was a faint ruby glow. A scream pierced the air, but it was quickly cut off, followed by the thud of what could only be a body hitting the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Grogu made another noise and kept running, his tiny arms thrown out to the side. Din watched, horrified, as the glow got closer, until he could make out the blade of a crimson laser sword, wielded by a cloaked figure. It emerged from the smoke in one movement, and Din could see its eyes—the sclera streaked with blood vessels and its irises bright red, matching the shade of its deadly weapon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Nautolen preteen’s sword met with the shadowy figure’s, but it was quickly clear that he was no match for it. The kid was quickly disarmed, and Din looked away before he could fall, heart flying to his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Run, kid!” Din cried out, drawing his blaster. He attempted to fire the weapon, but no laser discharged, and the gun made nothing but a feeble clicking noise. He lowered it, horror rising like bile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was just a mirage. A bystander—cursed to watch as a massacre took place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Din slowly turned to where Grogu was, and realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. A noise that he’d never made before escaped his lips, one caught between a pained moan and a terrified whimper.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He’s not fast enough. He’s not going to be able to outrun it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The figure continued its slaughter, laser sword bleeding red as it slashed and thrust. Din witnessed the children fall, the smell of burning flesh in his nose, the sound of screams echoing in his ears. He fought against the invisible force keeping him in place, trying to run to the child that he left in the hands of that blonde Jedi, who was nowhere to be seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The murderer approached Grogu. The child turned to face it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Terror like Din had never felt flooded him, causing his ears to ring and numbness to crawl up his limbs. His breaths were harsh and uneven, wheezing in and out of his lungs as he clawed desperately at the barrier keeping him from his kid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Three words escaped his trembling lips, whispered like a plea, like a prayer. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Please. Not him.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Grogu lifted his small clawed hand, big eyes drifting shut—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And in a single, fluid motion, the cloaked figure thrust its laser sword into the chest of Din’s child.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before the scream could leave his lips, Din’s sight rushed back to him in a wave of steel gray and cerulean blue.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><b>TW:</b> temporary character death, child death.<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>OOF, that was a doozy. I was originally planning on making the end scene far more gruesome, but then I really thought about it and decided to go the PG route. I hope it wasn't too much for any of you.<br/>I'm really excited about the fall out of this vision, so the next chapter should be out within the week! Feedback is much appreciated, and I'll see you guys then!<br/>Edit 1/10/21: The next chapter will be delayed a few days due to my mental health, but it should be out by the end of the week!<br/>Follow me on tumblr: <a href="https://thestarvingwriter.tumblr.com/">The Starving Writer</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Escape</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <i>“My ship is docked not too far away,” she informed him. “Fly the length of the crevice, and when you reach the end, go upwards. I’ll be behind you once you reach the upper levels.”</i>
</p><p>  <i>“How do you plan to stop the droids?”</i></p><p>  <i>“I have my ways,” she said with a slight smile. “Do you have a plan?”</i></p><p>  <i>He knew she wasn’t referring to his escape from Coruscant. “The beginnings of one,” he hedged. “I’ll be heading towards Nevarro, once I get off planet.”</i></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>New chapter! I hope you enjoy ~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as Din’s vision returned enough for him to see the blue skin of the Pantoran in front of him, he leapt to his feet.</p><p>A wave of dizziness struck him at the sudden movement. He stumbled slightly, back hitting the steel railing behind him. He drew his blaster, pointing it in between the strange eyes of the Seer.</p><p><em> “What the hell was that?”  </em> he managed, the words garbled and strained. He had to take a deep breath at the end of the sentence—it felt like there was a whipcord around his chest, tightening steadily and keeping him from breathing properly. <em>“</em>What did you… <em>what did you—”</em></p><p>“It was a vision, Lord Mand’alor,” the Jedi said calmly. “It is what is going to happen, if it is not stopped.”</p><p>Din’s hand shook violently around his blaster, his pulse racing in his ears. “Explain. <em>Now.”</em></p><p>The woman stood. “If something is not done to prevent the massacre, then the events that you just witnessed will unfold. Everyone in that temple will perish, and it will be burned to the ground.”</p><p>Din’s chest heaved, and in his mind, he could see it happen—Grogu’s small lifeless body, big eyes open and unseeing, a smoking crater in the middle of his robe-covered chest.</p><p>He squeezed his eyes shut against it, shivering. He lowered the gun in one jerky movement. “How do I stop it?”</p><p>The Jedi regarded him, before turning to face the dark ravine, her face impassive. “That is to be decided by you.”</p><p>"What?”</p><p>“Visions are a tricky thing. They’re difficult to observe, challenging to understand, and are often disjointed—too focused or not focused enough. This one was the former.”</p><p>A muscle jumped in Din’s jaw, panic mixing with anger. His hand twitched towards his blaster once more, his body tingling. <em>“Speak. Plainly.”</em></p><p>“Calm yourself,” The Jedi said, turning to face him once more. “Anger will not help this situation, Lord Mand’alor—”</p><p>“I am <em>not </em>Mand’alor,<em>” </em>Din snapped. “And you just showed me the brutal murder of <em>my</em> <em>foundling. </em>I have every right in the galaxy to be angry.”</p><p>She leveled him with a stern look, but continued, “There is rarely any context for a vision. When I receive them from the Force, I never know when or where they will occur. All I am given is a single moment, a single scene, and have to make my decisions based on what little information I am given. I am often too late to prevent what unfolds.”</p><p>Din’s stomach churned, and he tasted bile in the back of his throat. His anger dissipated, replaced swiftly by desperation. “So there’s no way I can…” he stopped, the invisible whipcord around his chest tightening once more, cutting off his air supply. He took a breath and tried again. “There’s no way I can stop it.”</p><p>“It all depends on the time and the place that the incident occurs. Though, over the decades, I have noticed a pattern develop with my visions.” She peered up at him, her milky white eyes unsettling, her gaze oddly piercing. “The Force often shows me events that will come to pass in three standard months time. Sometimes more. Rarely less.”</p><p>Din swallowed. “Three months. That’s not much time.”</p><p>“Less than that, now. It took nearly a month for you to arrive here, on Coruscant.”</p><p><em> Two months.  </em>“I’ll never make it,” he croaked, a wave of anguish hitting him. “I don’t… I don’t even know where he is.”</p><p>The Jedi said nothing, looking away from him and back out at the shroud of darkness next to them. “Hope is not all lost. There is still ample time for you to locate the temple.”</p><p>“I can’t search the galaxy in two months,” Din said hopelessly. “I can’t even search a <em>sector </em>in two months.”</p><p>“The Force works in strange ways. It will be with you on this journey.”</p><p>Din shook his head but said nothing. The sensation of grief choked him once more, stealing his voice.</p><p>“If anyone can save him, it would be you,” the Jedi said gently. “Take heart.”</p><p>He clenched his fists and looked away, throat tightening painfully. His chest hurt—a dull ache that sharpened whenever he inhaled, an acute reminder that he still lived while Grogu was destined to die.</p><p>He shut his eyes, a tremor running through him. “He was supposed to be safe,” he whispered hoarsely. “That was… the whole point. He was supposed to be safe with them.”</p><p>The Jedi said nothing. Din grappled with his emotions for a moment, pushing down the agony and newfound grief and locking it away to be felt at another time.</p><p>He needed to think straight. He needed a plan.</p><p>“What do you advise that I do?” he asked the woman, turning to face her. “You used to be a Jedi. Do you have any insight about where they are? Where they would go?”</p><p>“Unfortunately, all of the Jedi I know perished long ago,” she told him, regret coloring her tone. “I must confess I have no idea where the remaining members of the Order are, though I imagine somewhere quiet and isolated.”</p><p>Din nodded, forcibly pulling himself together. He had to get off of the planet, first and foremost. “You promised that I’d have safe passage from Coruscant. Do you intend to make good on your word?”</p><p>She scanned him with her white eyes. “Indeed. Fly your ship through the ravine, here. Not many police droids come down this far.”</p><p>“What about when I reach the upper levels, though? It’ll be teeming with law enforcement—”</p><p>“I will be close behind,” she bowed. “I have a ship of my own. I can assist you.”</p><p>He stared at her for a brief moment, sizing her up, before he gave a short nod. He turned and stalked away, back to where the <em>Visionary </em>was parked. The Jedi followed him closely.</p><p>“My ship is docked not too far away,” she informed him. “Fly the length of the crevice, and when you reach the end, go upwards. I’ll be behind you once you reach the upper levels.”</p><p>“How do you plan to stop the droids?”</p><p>“I have my ways,” she said with a slight smile. “Do you have a plan?”</p><p>He knew she wasn’t referring to his escape from Coruscant. “The beginnings of one,” he hedged. “I’ll be heading towards Nevarro, once I get off planet.”</p><p>“That’s quite a distance.”</p><p>“If I burn up all my fuel reserves, I can get there in less than a week,” Din said, pressing a button on his vambrace to unlock his ship, the ramp extending. He started to board, getting halfway onto the ship before turning to face the woman. “I’ll let you know, once its over. Once I… once I have him.”</p><p>She looked up at him, and the slightest ghost of sorrow passed over her face, before it vanished swiftly, leaving the same neutral placidness in its wake. She gave a slight bow. “I look forward to hearing from you, Lord Mand’alor.”</p><p>Din wrinkled his nose at the title but didn’t bother to correct her. He boarded the <em>Visionary, </em>withdrawing the ramp behind him, and sat down in the pilot chair, powering up the ship.</p><p>A red light flashed, notifying him once again about the poor air quality. His eyes were drawn to it, and for a second he was back in the burning temple—the laser sword was plunging into Grogu’s chest, his tiny body falling to the cracked floor.</p><p>He forced his eyes away from it, heart racing. He swallowed hard and focused on getting the ship in the air, rather than the vision that was still rattling around in his skull.</p><p>Getting the ship out of level thirteen-thirteen proved to be more difficult than he was anticipating. The lower levels of Coruscant were more enclosed than the higher ones, which didn’t leave much room for flight. Din kept the <em>Visionary</em> slow and low as he maneuvered towards the dark ravine, but once he dipped down into the deep crevice, he put all of the power in the accelerators and darted off into the blackness.</p><p>The red light continued to flash in his peripheral vision, but he ignored it in favor of watching where he was flying. He couldn’t focus on what he’d just seen right then—he had to get off Coruscant and to Nevarro, and then he had to find Grogu, before… before it was too late. He clenched his jaw at the thought, his hands tightening on the controller.</p><p>As he navigated through the ravine, in the semi-darkness of the ship, he whispered a promise to himself.</p><p>It was a promise that he wouldn’t break, unlike the Creed he’d violated all those months ago. He would fulfill it, even if he died in the process.</p><p>He promised that he would save Grogu. He would get there in time, and he would protect him, as was his mission from the start, and would continue to be his mission until the day he gave his last breath.</p><p>Grogu was going to live.</p><p>He would tear the galaxy apart if need be.</p><p>—</p><p>When he exited the ravine and saw no law enforcement air-speeders, he thought he was safe for a good minute.</p><p>It was nearly dusk—the last hints of orange and pink were fading from the Coruscanti sky, replaced by black and deep blue. Due to the late hour, air traffic was heavy. The bright lights from the buildings mixed with the headlights of the different crafts, but Din didn’t pay the stream of vehicles any attention. He darted into the sky, trying to exit the planet as quickly as possible.</p><p>Before he could get very far, however, he glanced at his radar and noticed that he was being tailed by four ships. A closer look told him that he wasn’t being followed by police droids on air-speeders, but by New Republic officers on X-wings.</p><p>His heart sank to his stomach as he grasped the accelerator lever, pushing it violently forward. The <em>Visionary </em>gained speed, but the X-wings were close behind him, matching his pace with ease.</p><p>He glanced around his dash, thinking quickly. His gaze found the hyperdrive, and he considered attempting to make the jump while still in the atmosphere, but it was incredibly risky. It was more likely that his ship would be blown to bits or just simply fall apart than him making the leap successfully.</p><p><em> I can’t get captured,  </em> Din thought, hand clamped tightly on the accelerator lever. <em>Even if they don’t make me stand trial, it would take days for me to be released. I only have two months.</em></p><p>
  <em> I’m going to have to shoot them out of the sky. </em>
</p><p>If the circumstances were different, he wouldn’t have done it. The last thing he wanted was the entirety of the New Republic breathing down his neck, and shooting down four X-wings was precisely the idiotic thing that would do that.</p><p>But he didn’t have <em>time.</em></p><p>Gritting his teeth, he put the weapon systems online, ready to fire at his command. He swiveled in his chair and aimed for the X-wing closet to him, waiting impatiently for the radar to zero in on the craft.</p><p>Before he could shoot at the ships, however, there was the sound of gunfire behind him.</p><p>He physically turned his body to see what was happening, and saw a white starfighter firing at the New Republic ships. The X-wing behind the <em>Visionary</em> exploded in a cloud of fire and debris. The one to his left did the same.</p><p>The Jedi had arrived.</p><p>Din watched as the starfighter shot down another one of the X-wings, the remains of the ship falling into the quickly shrinking city below. The last one rolled to avoid the fire, deftly dodging the lasers. The dance continued for several seconds—during which Din’s ship tore through the atmosphere and into space—before it ended in the final ship being reduced to nothing but shrapnel and fire.</p><p>Din watched the burning remains of the last X-wing fall to the planet.</p><p>Before he could do anything other than stare, his comm unit began to beep urgently. He reached over and pressed the flashing red button, letting the communication come through.</p><p>“Lord Mand’alor,”The Jedi said, clear voice distorted slightly. “The ships have been taken care of.”</p><p>“Thank you,” he said. “I don’t… I don’t know how I could repay you.” He shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how to express his gratitude. He wasn’t good with words. “When you land, you’re going to be arrested. They’ll try you for murder.”</p><p>She hummed. “Indeed. Fortunately, I will not be landing back on Coruscant.”</p><p>Din’s brows shot up. “Are you coming with—”</p><p>“Lord Mand’alor, I recommend you put your shields up. Now.”</p><p>He started. “What?”</p><p>“There isn’t much time. Your shields.”</p><p>Din did as she instructed. With a ping, the shields raised, protecting the <em>Visionary.</em></p><p>“Why do I need shields?” Din asked urgently.</p><p>“To your right, you will see the New Republic space station,” she calmly explained. “It will fire at us in precisely ninety seconds. I saw it happen.”</p><p>He stiffened. <em>“What?”</em></p><p>“Thankfully, your ship is equipped with shields strong enough to withstand even the strongest of blasts. It was a Jedi gunship, designed during the darkest days of the Clone Wars. I knew the man who flew it—he was very wise, very kind. He perished during Order 66, along with the rest of the Jedi in the Order.”</p><p>Din began powering up his hyperdrive, swearing viciously in Mando’a when he saw that it wouldn’t be fully online for another two minutes. “We’ll have to make the jump to hyperspace before they call out more X-wings. Is your hardware online?”</p><p>“My ship does not come with a hyperdrive, I’m afraid.”</p><p>Din’s breath caught. “What?”</p><p>“I’m flying an old Jedi ship, created pre-Clone Wars. It was made for sub-light travel within a system, and its shields aren’t very strong.” She paused, then said thoughtfully, “Jedi were peacekeepers, once. There was a time where we didn’t need gunships, or clones, or battle armor. All we needed were the robes on our backs and the lightsabers on our belts. We were never meant to be soldiers.”</p><p>Din slowed his ship down, reaching up and flicking a switch. “Listen, if you’re fast enough, you can board my ship before that gun fires. We still have around a minute—”</p><p>“I’m afraid not,” she cut him off. “We have but thirty seconds before that laser discharges. I know when I am beaten, Mandalorian. I have seen my fate, and I accept it.”</p><p>An unsettling chill ran through Din, the realization of what was about to happen prickling his skin. “You’re going to be blown to bits.”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“You’re content to just lay down and die?”</p><p>“That’s where we differ, I’m afraid. I am content with my passing. There is no death, there is the Force.”</p><p>Din opened his mouth, before he slowly let it close. He shut his eyes.</p><p>“May the Force be with you, Din Djarin. Lord Mand’alor.”</p><p>He breathed. “And with you.”</p><p>When the laser discharged from the turret, Din made himself look. He made himself watch as the blast tore through the starship, as it incinerated the Pantoran inside. He made himself watch as the remains of the craft careened towards the planet below, burning upon entry into its atmosphere. He watched it all, just like she had watched Grogu die, unable to do anything but witness the tragedy unfold and inform him of what she saw.</p><p>He owed her his gaze.</p><p>He owed her a witness to her death.</p><p>It wasn’t until he was in hyperspace that he realized he didn’t even know her name.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Any guesses as to what Jedi owned Din's ship before him? There were some clues hidden in the previous chapters, though you'd have to be well-versed in Clone Wars knowledge to piece them together. All will be revealed eventually :)<br/>There's a big Din angst storm approaching, and I'm very excited about it. I thought it would make it into this chapter, but I am very wordy.<br/>By the way, sorry about the delay on the chapter! I had some serious anxiety last week and it kept me from doing pretty much anything. But I'm good now! Everything was sorted and updates should be returning to normal.<br/>As always, feedback is much appreciated. Comments truly fuel me, so they're extra appreciated :D I will see you guys next week!<br/>Follow me on tumblr: <a href="https://thestarvingwriter.tumblr.com/">The Starving Writer</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Fall Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <i>His exhaustion was profound. His movements felt slow and strange, his head too heavy and his muscles uncomfortably tense. He was in no shape to be piloting his ship—his reaction times were off, his judgment unreliable. He could very easily get himself killed.</i>
</p><p>  <i>But he wasn’t going to be in space for much longer. Nevarro loomed ahead, its gray rock and lava fields visible from space. He greeted it with vague displeasure.</i></p><p>  <i>Once, it had been home. Now, it held dark memories—memories of storm troopers and fire, of empty helmets and TIE fighters. It held too many ghosts.</i></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>New chapter! And an angsty one at that. Enjoy!<br/><b>Warning:</b> This chapter contains subjects that could be triggering to some readers. Check the end notes for details.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>On average, the trip from Coruscant to Nevarro took over a week. It wasn’t a quick trip by any means—cross galaxy travel took time, and Coruscant was sat snugly in the Core while Nevarro was deep in the Outer Rim.</p><p>Din forced his ship to make it in five days.</p><p>There was a certain level of danger, flying so fast. The slightest miscalculation could burn him and his ship to a crisp, or send him spiraling through space. But he didn’t have over a week of travel time to spare. He needed to get to Nevarro, and he needed to get there fast.</p><p>The five days he spent in hyperspace felt like five days trapped in a strange limbo. Time progressed slowly, lethargically—it was like he could physically feel each second go by, eyes straying to the chrono on the dash only to see the same numbers displayed at him.</p><p>The urgency that coursed through his veins felt foreign to him. He’d never been on such a strict time crunch before, and it was slowly driving him insane. Each moment he spent sitting idle in hyperspace was a moment wasted, a second that could have been spent moving and planning and researching.</p><p>He grew tired of watching time bleed away, and grew tired in general, after roughly a day and a half. He retired to his bunk, stripping himself of his beskar and laying down.</p><p>He stared at the metal above his bed for a while, unable to quiet his thoughts. Every single one of them had to do with the vision he was shown, and he marveled at the way he was affected by it all.</p><p>Every time it crossed his mind, his stomach sank to his feet and his heart raced aggressively, his lungs feeling thick and uncooperative. It was a sensation that he’d never experienced before, in his nearly forty years of life, and he wanted to never feel it again.</p><p>He rolled over so that he was laying on his stomach, pressing his cheek into his pillow and letting his eyes drift shut. He blocked out the disturbing images, let them flow away until all he saw was the back of his eyelids, the blackness full and complete.</p><p>He let it wash over him, like a cool wave on Mon Cala. His breathing evened out, his muscles going slack.</p><p>Sleep took him swiftly.</p><p>—</p><p>Din stood on a jagged rock perched on the edge of a cliff.</p><p>The fall was steep, but the rock was sturdy. He looked up and saw the dark expanse of sky stretched out above him, dotted with stars and two round moons, providing little light to the landscape in front of him.</p><p>He looked away from the darkness above and stared off into the distance, unable to see much other than a few scatterings of trees and clusters of rock formations. He had no idea where he was.</p><p>
  <em>Why didn’t you save me?</em>
</p><p>The voice rained down from above. He jumped, searching for the person that the voice belonged to but finding nothing. Clouds began to form, rushing across the sky and covering the stars and moons, drenching him in darkness. He reached up to turn on his night vision, but his gloveless hand met warm, creased skin instead of cold, hard beskar.</p><p>Where was his helmet?</p><p>
  <em>You could have saved me. You were right there.</em>
</p><p>Din’s head whipped around, but it was far too dark to see. His breathing sped up, panic beginning to take hold.</p><p>The blackness was suddenly split with a blood-red blade, and he flinched backward against it. Screams filled his ears, mixed with a ringing—a ringing almost akin to the type that echoed in one's head after an explosion.</p><p>He turned, and the darkness dissipated. He was in the burning temple once more, the polished floor trembling beneath his feet, smoke billowing above his head.</p><p>He blinked and saw Grogu get impaled by the red laser sword.</p><p>Din shouted, running forward. He fell to his knees next to him, sliding on the slick floor.</p><p>Useless, gloveless hands flitted around the child’s tiny body, unable to find where to start to fix the obviously irreparable damage. Grogu was looking up at him, large eyes half shut and hazy. His chest moved shallowly, his breathing strained and thin. Din stared down at him, swallowing the grief that threatened to choke him.</p><p>Grogu coughed, once. It was a horrible, terrible sound—one so awful that it made Din want to clamp his hands over his ears, want to physically pull it out of his brain. It was the sound of rapidly incoming death, of lungs that no longer worked. Din’s throat worked as his stomach churned nauseatingly, breaths wheezing out of him in harsh pants.</p><p>The child raised his tiny hand, fingers twitching imperceptibly. Din reached out and grasped it, holding it gently with both of his calloused hands like it was the most precious thing in the world. His vision blurred with tears, and he blinked rapidly to clear it, the moisture falling down his cheeks.</p><p>Grogu’s eyes shut, his chest stilling. Time slowed until it stopped.</p><p>Then, Din woke up.</p><p>—</p><p>The first thing he noticed, when he regained consciousness, was that he was hyperventilating.</p><p>For a terrifying second, he thought one of the airlocks had opened and that all of the oxygen was slowly being sucked from his ship. His chest burned as he struggled to pull in air, his arms pinned beneath him.</p><p>He rolled over onto his back, his stomach lurching with the movement. He tried to think rationally, but his mind was racing too fast for him to be able to pin down a thought.</p><p>His limbs tingled, his vision spun. He rolled over and vomited over the edge of his bunk, unable to keep the nausea at bay. He grabbed a fistful of the thin sheet as he leaned over, holding the linen so tightly that splotches of white erupted on his knuckles.</p><p>He rolled back over onto his back once he’d choked out what little he’d eaten, struggling to establish control over himself. He shut his eyes, forcing himself to take deep, slow breaths out of his mouth. His body shook like he was out in the cold, despite him being drenched in sweat, and the sound of his teeth chattering was loud in the quiet of the ship.</p><p>As the panic faded little by little, he started to feel cagey and trapped. He got up from his bunk and went to the cockpit, still clad in nothing but soft trousers and a thin sleep shirt. His heart was still racing, his hands still shaking, but he sat down in the chair and physically forced himself to calm, setting his face and glaring out the viewport at the electric blue blur of hyperspace.</p><p><em>Ridiculous</em>, he thought as an involuntary shiver ran through him. <em>Falling to pieces like some </em>ik’aad<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a><em> who can’t find their parents. It was just a dream.</em></p><p>But it wasn’t, though. It was what would come to pass in two months if he wasn’t fast enough.</p><p>Another shiver ripped through him. He wrapped his arms around himself, clenching his jaw.</p><p>As he stared out into the depths of space, he tried to rationalize what exactly had just happened to him.</p><p>He’d never… experienced anything like that before. He’d had plenty of nightmares in his life—when he was younger, bad dreams were the only type of dream he had—but he’d never been reduced to a hyperventilating mess after one of them. Most of the time, they fueled him—made him train harder, fight better.</p><p>He thought back to the dream he’d had, and found that even looking at it logically was enough to fill him with dread, enough to make his heart race and his stomach sour.</p><p>He shut his eyes, swallowing convulsively.</p><p>
  <em>Why does it affect me like this?</em>
</p><p>He’d seen children die before. He’d seen a variety of terrible things in his lifetime, from gruesome deaths to gut-wrenching tragedy. He’d witnessed the destruction of his entire village, had seen the bodies of his parents—and that wasn’t including the blood on his <em>own</em> hands.</p><p>
  <em>It’s different.</em>
</p><p>Din ran a shaking hand over his upper lip, another shiver rolling through him. He knew why it was different.</p><p>It was the same reason he broke his Creed, on Morak.</p><p>It was the same reason his mother and father put him in that cellar, three decades ago.</p><p>He would rather die the most painful death in the galaxy than watch the light fade from the—<em>his</em>—child’s eyes.</p><p><em>I have to save him,</em> Din thought desperately, leaning his head back against the headrest.</p><p>
  <em>I have to.</em>
</p><p>—</p><p>After that, Din didn’t get much sleep.</p><p>It wasn’t from lack of trying, either. He attempted several times to get a few standard hours of rest, but it was like his body physically wouldn't let him. He would lay down on his bunk, or lean back in his chair, and shut his eyes and drift… only for the same horrific sight of Grogu dying to be hidden on the edge of his consciousness, jolting him back into alertness just as he started to fall asleep. It kept him awake, even as his entire being ached for sleep.</p><p>When he slid into realspace, it had been over two days since he’d slept properly.</p><p>His exhaustion was profound. His movements felt slow and strange, his head too heavy and his muscles uncomfortably tense. He was in no shape to be piloting his ship—his reaction times were off, his judgment unreliable. He could very easily get himself killed.</p><p>But he wasn’t going to be in space for much longer. Nevarro loomed ahead, it’s gray rock and lava fields visible from space. He greeted it with vague displeasure.</p><p>Once, it had been home. Now, it held dark memories—memories of storm troopers and fire, of empty helmets and TIE fighters. It held too many ghosts.</p><p>He pulled the accelerator lever forward, increasing his speed toward it.</p><p>When he entered the atmosphere, the sun was teetering on the edge of the horizon, threatening to dip below and entrench the planet in darkness. Brilliant oranges and pinks streaked across the broad sky, casting a delicate peach glow on the city, which appeared to have grown since he’d last been there.</p><p>He used the last of the Visionary’s fuel reserves to touch down neatly on the sand, the ship making a faint wheezing noise as it ran empty.</p><p>He sighed, standing up from the chair and pulling on his helmet. He bit back a groan as his body ached, his back twinging painfully and his legs aching. The beginnings of a headache began to blossom in his temples, undoubtedly caused by lack of sleep and stress. He sighed again as he trudged to the back of the ship, the exit ramp withdrawing with a click of a button.</p><p>He nearly tripped on his way down, his limbs heavy and uncooperative. He managed to catch himself, steadying before continuing to walk.</p><p>There were two maintenance droids waiting at the bottom. He waved them away—he’d deal with his fuel problem later. First, he needed to find Cara.</p><p>He made his way into the city, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. The back of his neck prickled as he passed by a group of Aqualish, paranoia making his hand drift to the blaster on his hip. He removed it a second later—they hadn’t even looked at him.</p><p>“Mando!” a familiar voice barked from behind, making him jump in surprise. He turned, the movement feeling strangely unreal, and saw Cara walking towards him, strides long and powerful.</p><p>As she approached, he saw the thunderous glare on her face, and his stomach sank.</p><p>
  <em>Dank farrik, she’s mad.</em>
</p><p>“Cara,” he said, words feeling thick and strange in his mouth. “I have to—”</p><p>She immediately grabbed his arm, tugging him into one of the nearby buildings. He recognized the interior—it was her office, the one that she’d newly required as a Marshal of the New Republic. She shut the door behind them before rounding on him, pressing a finger against his beskar-covered chest.</p><p>“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” she said, a sharp edge to her voice.</p><p>Din blinked, feeling slow and stupid with exhaustion. He said, “I need—”</p><p>“There’s a warrant out for your arrest,” she bit out. “I got notified of it four days ago. I think the whole damn <em>galaxy </em>did.”</p><p><em>Unsurprising.</em> “That doesn’t matter. I—”</p><p>
  <em>“Four X-wings, Din!”</em>
</p><p>Her use of his name made his stomach squirm unpleasantly. “It wasn’t my idea,” he said. “Don’t call me that.”</p><p>She scowled up at him, and he tried again. “Listen. I didn’t—I didn’t want to blow up the X-wings. I had no choice.”</p><p>“No choice?” she scoffed, shaking her head. “Right.”</p><p>“I didn’t. I wouldn’t have done it if I had any other option.”</p><p>She glared at him for a second more, before she leaned back and crossed her arms. “Why didn’t you have a choice?”</p><p>“I had to get off Coruscant. The police droids thought I was flying a stolen ship, so they tried to arrest me. I evaded them, and then they sent X-wings.” He pulled a face beneath his helmet and muttered, “All of this could have been avoided if Karga had registered my damn ship.”</p><p>She looked at him funny. “Wait, why the hell were you on Coruscant?”</p><p>Din was tired of talking, and tired in general. “It’s a long story. I need you to search the New Republic database for me.”</p><p>“Hold on,” she held up a hand. “I need an explanation as to why you were even on Coruscant in the first place. Bounty hunters never go to the Core—did you have Underworld business or something?”</p><p>He grimaced, knowing that she wouldn't move past this without an answer. “The, uh… the Force pulled me there.”</p><p>She stared at him like he’d lost his mind. He was getting irritated—he didn’t have time for pointless conversations. He repeated, “I need you to search the New Republic database for me.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“I need to find the Jedi that took the kid.”</p><p>Her eyebrows climbed to her hairline. “What?”</p><p>He briefly shut his eyes, the headache intensifying. “I’m not going to repeat myself. Can you please just do it?”</p><p>He opened his eyes to find her staring at him, a strange, wary look hidden in her heavy gaze. “I can try. I’m not sure how much good it’ll do, though—they mainly register criminals, so unless that guy’s got a record…”</p><p>“Do it.”</p><p>Cara looked at him a second longer, before walking over to her desk and taking a seat, sliding the keyboard towards her. “Name?”</p><p>“I don’t have one.”</p><p>“I won’t be able to find much without a name.”</p><p>“Try.”</p><p>Her nostrils flared, but she began typing. Din stood behind her, leaning against the wall and peering over her shoulder at the screen, watching as she cycled through page after page of stoic faces.</p><p>He shut his eyes for what he thought was no longer than a blink, but when he reopened them, she was nearing the end of her search.</p><p>“He’s not in here,” she said, turning to look at him. “Why do you need to find him?”</p><p>“Is there anything else you can search?” he asked, notes of desperation leaking into his tone. He had been hoping that a search of the database would yield better results—at least a name, or a face, or a place to even <em>begin</em> looking—but it seemed that he wasn’t so lucky.</p><p>“What’s this about?” she asked slowly. “Why do you need to get the kid, all of the sudden?”</p><p>He didn’t want to talk about it, so he ignored the question. “Search for planets, then. I need to make a list of all of them that have more than one moon.”</p><p>“Hold on, I need some answers.” Her tone turned irritated and impatient. It was clear she was tired of being brushed off. She got up from her chair, facing him. “Why the hell do you need a list of planets? What’s going on?”</p><p>He clenched his jaw and said nothing.</p><p>She made a noise of frustration. “Look, I don’t know what’s happening, but… do you really think it’s a good idea, to go and get the kid? I mean, he’s probably already settled. It’s been nearly a year.”</p><p>His stomach clenched. “I have to. You don’t understand.”</p><p>“Yeah, because you’ve done such a great job explaining,” she said sarcastically, then sighed. “Listen, the kid’s with his kind now. Wasn’t that the whole point? To return him, so that he’d be safe?”</p><p>“He’s not safe,” Din snapped, jolting forward. His blood thrummed in his veins, headache pounded in his temples. He felt wild, out of control. “He’s going to die if I don’t save him. He’s going to get stabbed through the chest,” he banged a fist on his chest piece, gritting his teeth, “and he’s going to die. Alone and scared.”</p><p>Cara started in surprise, but he kept going, heart racing. “I saw it. A Jedi showed it to me, on Coruscant. She had a vision of it. The temple is going to burn and he’s going to die.”</p><p>Cara’s lips were pressed into a thin line. He looked away from her. His eyes stung, and he blamed it on exhaustion. “I have to save him. I have to. He’s my <em>kid</em>, Cara.”</p><p>The silence that followed his outburst was deafening. He swallowed hard, feeling raw and exposed.</p><p>“Alright,” Cara said, after what felt like an eternity.</p><p>He glanced at her. “Alright?”</p><p>She nodded, jaw tight, eyes determined. A warrior, preparing for battle. “Alright. Let’s find your kid.”</p><p>--</p><p>Night took hold outside the building as Din spent the next few hours anxiously pacing around Cara’s office as she searched database after database for information.</p><p>He was twitchy and irritated, arms crossed over his middle. His profound tiredness was fueling a strange paranoia—one that kept him glancing at the door and at the moon slowly drifting across the sky, physically feeling time inch by.</p><p>Eventually, the paranoia gave way to bone deep exhaustion. It felt like too much effort to continue pacing, so he wandered over to the window and leaned his helmet-covered head against the wall, observing the sleeping city outside. The singular moon was high in the sky, providing just enough light to see the few people mulling about.</p><p>“Bespin has two moons, do you think—”</p><p>“The temple wasn’t in the air,” Din interrupted, pulling his gaze away from the window and looking at Cara with heavy, burning eyes. “I saw the ground and I saw the sky.”</p><p>“Great, ground and sky,” she muttered, her keyboard clicking as she typed. “That’s a lot to go off of.”</p><p>There was a pause, and then she suggested, “Corellia?”</p><p>He shook his head. “That’s a Core world, not a lot of privacy.”</p><p>“Batuu?”</p><p>His eyebrows raised, his head cocked. “Not bad. Outer Rim, pretty quiet.”</p><p>“Bit of a smuggler’s paradise, though. Black Spire’s pretty seedy.”</p><p>Din considered it for a second longer, before shaking his head and agitating his steadily worsening headache. “Not a great place for kids. Keep looking.”</p><p>More clicking. “What about Dantooine? It’s isolated but not too isolated…”</p><p>Din zoned out, leaning his head back against the wall. His itchy, tired eyes began to drift shut, his lips parting slightly.</p><p>“—Mando. <em>Mando.”</em></p><p>Din jerked upright, hand flying to his blaster as his head swiveled to look at Cara. “What?” he snapped.</p><p>“I was talking to you,” she said. “You weren’t responding.”</p><p>He breathed out, letting his head thunk back against the wall. A tremor ran though his body, and his muscles seized with it.</p><p>“You good?”</p><p>Din shrugged with one arm and said nothing, too tired to speak.</p><p>“Maybe we should break for the night,” Cara suggested. “It’s late.”</p><p>“No,” Din managed, a tremor running through him again. “We don’t have time. The Jedi said two months.”</p><p>“Until he…”</p><p>Din nodded jerkily. “So I can’t break for the night.” He shut his eyes again briefly. “Keep searching for planets, but only in the Outer Rim. I don’t think he would go anywhere else.”</p><p>Cara didn’t respond. He blearily opened his eyes and turned to her, seeing that she was looking at him with barely concealed concern.</p><p>“What?” he asked grouchily, and the concern grew.</p><p>“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Cara said slowly. “You’re not speaking Basic.”</p><p>Din stared at her for a long moment. An icy chill ran through him—he hadn’t even realized he’d switched languages. It was unsettling. “Oh,” he said, making sure he was talking in Basic before continuing. “I didn’t… realize.”</p><p>Cara’s lips pursed. “What language even was that?”</p><p>Din shifted, embarrassed. “Probably Mando’a. Mandalorians speak it.”</p><p>She nodded slowly. “When was the last time you slept?”</p><p>“…Three days ago.”</p><p>“I think we’re done for tonight.”</p><p>This time, Din raised no objections.</p><p>--</p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Baby/infant.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><b>TW:</b> temporary character death, vague descriptions of panic attacks, and descriptions of sleep deprivation.<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>-<br/>Man, Din's really going through it. I genuinely don't think he's the type to be very affected by death and destruction (especially in his line of work) but seeing your child die over and over every time you shut your eyes is something that I think would be scarring for anyone, even someone who's used to the loss of life. And thus, Din can't sleep.<br/>Let me know what you think of this new development with Din's character. I'm honestly curious to hear some thoughts about it... I thought it was about as angsty as I could go without it being out of character.<br/>As always feedback is much appreciated :D Comments fuel me, so it would be great if you left one below! I'll see you guys next week, as always.<br/>Follow me on <a href="https://thestarvingwriter.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a><br/>Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/tstarvingwriter">Twitter</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Wet Planet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p><i>It was a beautiful planet. A layer of gray clouds obscured large parts of the verdant green land and hid sections of the deep blue oceans. Rivers of lava could be seen as well, flowing across the surface in bright, burning veins. Delicate planetary rings circled the celestial body, giving the entire planet an ethereal look.</i><br/> <br/><i>It was more alluring from space than it was in atmosphere. Upon entry, Din was greeted with sheets of rain and loud claps of thunder, the already lush landscape saturated with water.</i></p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a looong chapter. Enjoy ~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They continued with their research the following day.</p><p>Cara went up to her apartment while Din slept fitfully, still in full armor, on the small couch in her office. It wasn’t good sleep—he started awake every hour and at the slightest noise, but in the morning he felt more rested than he had in days. His head was clearer, his body less achy. The anxiety that had plagued him ever since Coruscant was still there, but it was muted now, mixed with determination and drive.</p><p>For breakfast, they had protein muffins, which were the only thing Cara had on hand. Din ate his portion in three bites to minimize the amount of time he spent with his helmet raised above his mouth. He realized belatedly that it didn’t really matter, anyway—Cara had already seen his face, on Gideon’s light cruiser. It was a fact that made him vaguely uncomfortable.</p><p>He told her the vision in more detail as they sat in her office, the late morning sun leaking into the space through the window. He explained the massacre that he’d witnessed, as well as all the specifics that he could remember about his surroundings. He did leave out some of the more gory details, however—like how the smell of burning flesh mixed with the scent of acrid smoke, or how Grogu tried to protect himself, only to be brutally cut down.</p><p>They spent the entire day and the next researching and compiling a list of possible planets that the Jedi was on. It was tedious, repetitive work, even though Cara did most of the research. Din just paced like a caged animal, barely restraining himself from snapping at Cara to hurry up.</p><p> Greef Karga came by in the evening of the second day, and Din spent thirty standard minutes chewing him out about the unregistered status of his ship.</p><p>“It takes fifteen minutes to fill out licensing paperwork,” Din seethed at the man, who was still standing near the door. Din had assaulted him upon entry, preventing him from entering the room any further. “Are you an idiot, or are you just lazy? I could have gotten killed!”</p><p>“I am sorry, Mando,” Greef said, chagrined. It was the fourth time he’d apologized. “I didn’t know it would cause such trouble—I figured that the ship didn’t need licensing, since it was so old—”</p><p>Din scowled and opened his mouth to retort, but Cara spoke before he could continue to yell at the magistrate. “The list is done”</p><p>Din glared at Karga for a second longer before stalking over to Cara’s desk, looking down at the datapad that she had been writing on.</p><p>“That’s every known planet in the galaxy that has two moons, as well as some that have more than that,” she explained, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “So, unless he’s in the Unknown Regions or one some rock in Wild Space, the planet is on there.”</p><p>Din grabbed it and perched himself on the edge of the desk, scrolling quickly through the information. The list was extensive and detailed, including locations, coordinates, and even short descriptions of each of the planets.</p><p>Gratitude swelled in Din’s chest, momentarily stealing his breath. “Cara, I—”</p><p>“No need to thank me,” she said, her mouth twisting in a small smile. “It’s for the kid.”</p><p>Din gazed at her a second longer before he nodded and looked back at the datapad, scrolling back up the list.</p><p>“So what now?” Cara asked after a moment. “You can’t go to every single planet on that list in two months.”</p><p>“I know.” Din stood, still clutching the datapad. “I need to narrow it down some more. I can probably make the trip to three planets in two months, maybe four if I’m fast enough. I just need to find which ones.”</p><p>“But how are you going to do that? He could be on any of them.”</p><p>Din turned off the datapad, tucking it underneath his arm and moving towards the door. “I’ve got to find a Jedi.”</p><p>Cara’s face showed open surprise. “Another Jedi? Won’t it take a while to find one?</p><p>“I already know where she is.”</p><p>“Is it the one from Coruscant?”</p><p>Din paused briefly, guilt twisting in this stomach. <em>I could have saved her.</em> “No, not her. There was a Jedi I met on Corvus, before the kid got taken. She refused to train him.”</p><p>“Do you think she’ll be much help now?”</p><p>“I just need to ask her some questions.”</p><p>Cara watched him, eyes narrowed. “Do you think she’s still there?”</p><p>“I don’t know. It’s worth a shot.”</p><p>He approached the door and turned to Karga, who was still standing there. He jabbed a gloved finger into the man’s chest and growled, “my ship better be registered by the time I reach hyperspace.”</p><p>The magistrate winced. “About that… there’s a bit of an issue.”</p><p>Din, who had one foot out the door, paused. “What issue?”</p><p>“I just talked with the mechanics about your ship. You busted your hyperdrive.”</p><p>Din stared at him, stomach sinking. Greef licked his lips and continued, “I ordered one for you—state of the art, all the bells and whistles—but it won’t get here for a few days.”</p><p>“How many?” Din asked, voice low and urgent.</p><p>“About two.”</p><p>Din swore. “I don’t have time like that to spare. You don’t have any parts here?”</p><p>“Unfortunately not.”</p><p>Din resisted the urge to bang his helmet against the doorframe. He clenched his jaw. “Fine. Two days.”</p><p>He marched back over to the couch in Cara’s office and plopped himself down on it. He leaned back against the cushions, crossed his arms, and scowled.</p><p>Two days. And then he’d go to Corvus, and find Ahsoka Tano.</p><p>—</p><p>He left Nevarro four days after he arrived.</p><p>The hyperdrive had been installed as soon as it got there, completely free of charge. Din was surprised at Karga’s benevolence, but he figured that it was likely compensation for not registering his ship. Greef was generous, but not <em>that </em>generous.</p><p>Once he was in space and out of Nevarro’s orbit, he set his coordinates for Corvus.</p><p>He had no idea if Ahsoka would be any help to him, but he figured the trip would be worth his time. Perhaps she would know where others would settle, or about any places that held significance to the Jedi. That kind of information was invaluable, considering all that he had at that moment was a list of planets and no staring point.</p><p>She seemed fond of Grogu as well, even though she refused to train him. He was hoping that fondness was enough for her to lend her assistance in finding him.</p><p>He laid his hand on the hyperdrive lever, ready to make the leap, but he hesitated at the last second.</p><p>Something wasn’t right.</p><p>He withdrew his hand and sat back in his chair, staring out the viewport at Nevarro’s solitary moon, thinking.</p><p>It was inexplicable, but going to Corvus didn’t <em>feel </em>right. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, looking down at the coordinates that he had punched in. He reached out and deleted them, pondering why he suddenly felt like flying to Corvus was a terrible idea.</p><p>The forest planet was, admittedly, quite out of the way. It was between Endor and Bespin—all the way across the galaxy from Nevarro. It would take nearly a month to get there if he were to avoid the hyperlanes in control of the New Republic, and he was quickly realizing that he didn’t have that kind of time to waste, especially since it was unlikely that Ahsoka was even still on the planet. From what he’d gathered, Jedi seemed to be nomads, of a sort—drifting across the galaxy to wherever their “Force” takes them, and she had achieved her goal of liberating the city before he left. He doubted she would have stuck around for much longer after that.</p><p>He didn’t have time to waste. He would have to do without her help.</p><p>He glanced down at the datapad sitting in his lap, open to the list of planets that Cara had made. He had been scrolling absently through it the last few days as he waited for his hyperdrive to arrive, trying to get an idea of what planets were included. There were more planets than he would have thought, and looking through the extensive list made him feel a little hopeless—Grogu could be on any of them, and he had no idea what would set one dual-mooned planet apart from the rest.</p><p>His gaze fell on the planet of Lah’mu—a place that he’d never heard of before. He picked up the datapad and read the description that Cara wrote for it.</p><p>
  <em>Lah’mu — Outer Rim — Raioballo Sector — Coordinates: 12,45,20.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Description: Rainy, quiet planet deep in the Outer Rim. Lots of mountains and plateaus, volcanoes and black sand beaches. Mineral-rich soil, perfect for farming. Sparsely populated—most of the citizens reside in the Western hemisphere of the planet. Hardly touched by Imps. Perfect place to disappear.</em>
</p><p>Din’s eyebrows raised at the last line. “Perfect place to disappear,” he said aloud. “Sounds about right.”</p><p>From Cara’s description, Lah’mu sounded like the ideal place to train Jedi children. Not only was it isolated, but the lack of Imperial presence would make it safe from the remnants of the Empire.</p><p>Not only that, but Lah’mu just seemed <em>right. </em>He felt drawn to it—almost in the same way that he’d previously felt drawn to Coruscant. It felt like he had to go there.</p><p><em>It’s a place to start, at least, </em>Din thought, typing in the coordinates. <em>Maybe I’ll even get lucky and guess right.</em></p><p>He gripped the hyperdrive lever in his gloved hand and pulled it forward, launching the <em>Visionary </em>into hyperspace.</p><p>—</p><p>It took longer than he would have liked to get to Lah’mu.</p><p>It was on the other side of the galaxy, but in the opposite way that Corvus was. Lah’mu shared a sector with Dantooine, which was almost to the Unknown Regions.</p><p>It was a maddening three weeks of travel. A few days in, he felt like a fool for picking the farthest planet away from Nevarro to go to. There were several planets with two moons closer than Lah’mu, but for some reason, he’d picked the farthest one to explore first.</p><p>It was too late to turn back, however. It would only waste more time.</p><p>The nightmares returned. When he did manage to get some sleep, he was plagued with horrific renditions of the vision that he’d been shown, most ending with Grogu dying in various ways.</p><p>Two weeks in, he dreamed of the child murmuring the word <em>buir </em>before choking to death on his own blood. He woke up crying—muzzy and confused and overwhelmed—and didn’t get a minute of sleep for three days after.</p><p>On the twentieth day of travel, Lah’mu came into view.</p><p>It was a beautiful planet. A layer of gray clouds obscured large parts of the verdant green land and hid sections of the deep blue oceans. Rivers of lava could be seen as well, flowing across the surface in bright, burning veins. Delicate planetary rings circled the celestial body, giving the entire planet an ethereal look.</p><p>It was more alluring from space than it was in atmosphere. Upon entry, Din was greeted with sheets of rain and loud claps of thunder, the already lush landscape saturated with water.</p><p>He flew across the Eastern hemisphere first, but it was largely unpopulated. He passed over a few agricultural plots and several active volcanoes, but not much else.</p><p>The Western hemisphere was far more promising. There were several small farms, as well as a few waterlogged towns. He flew over one structure that even looked like a temple, and tentative hope began to fill him, his pulse quickening with it.</p><p>He landed at a larger, more urban area the north, touching down just outside the city limits. Wet mud sucked at his boots as he trudged into the soaked city, water running in rivulets down his beskar armor and soaking the exposed bits of cloth. Thunder rumbled ominously overhead, the ground seeming to shake with it.</p><p>There were a fair number of people outside, despite the terrible weather. Men and women alike stood out in the rain, worn cloaks protecting their heads from the deluge. Various stalls lined the narrow town streets, selling mostly food and clothing, and children ran barefoot through the mud, covered up to their knees in the slurry. Din watched as one kid slipped and fell face-first into the sludge, only to get back up and continue playing like nothing happened. The sight reminded him of Sorgan, of <em>Grogu, </em>and it made his chest hurt.</p><p><em>I will find him, </em>Din promised, continuing in his trek. <em>I will.</em></p><p>Seeking information, he ducked under one of the food stalls, the wooden awning perched above providing refuge from the downpour. The woman running it was elderly—her dark human skin was creased and weathered, the whites of her eyes yellowed with sun damage. Her gaze flicked across his armor curiously, before she smiled up at him and asked, “Would you like a muja fruit?”</p><p>Din blinked, surprised. “I—a what?”</p><p>“A muja fruit,” she repeated, picking up a round, red fruit. “The sweetest on all of Lah’mu, and only for two credits. Would you like one?”</p><p>Din stared at the fruit for a second, before he shook his head. “No, thank you. I need information.”</p><p>The woman’s gray eyebrows raised, her smile fading. “Information?”</p><p>“Yes. Do you know of a temple on this planet?”</p><p>“A temple?”</p><p>“Yes. It would probably be large, with big windows. A human man with blond hair runs it. Do you know of such a thing?”</p><p>The woman stared at him, forehead creased. “Well… I don’t—”</p><p>“One muja fruit, please.”</p><p>Din jerked slightly, startled by the sudden voice. He looked and saw a woman standing next to him, dressed in a light gray cloak. From his angle, he couldn’t see her face—only the long montrals that protruded from the hood of her garment.</p><p>Din frowned, irritated at being interrupted. He ignored the rude woman and asked the vendor urgently, “What were you going to say, about the temple?”</p><p>But the old lady ignored his question in favor of holding out a ripe fruit for the woman to take, smiling brightly. “Of course, dear. That’ll be two credits.”</p><p>The woman reached out and took the piece of fruit, orange hand closing over the shiny surface. She handed the vendor two credits, who took them gratefully. Din gritted his teeth, pissed off.</p><p>The woman holding the muja turned to face him. Din glared at her out of the corner of his eye and did a double-take, shocked.</p><p>Standing next to him, clutching a piece of produce and grinning widely, was Ashoka Tano.</p><p>He stared openly at her, wondering if he’d finally gone crazy. “How…” he trailed off, words dying on his tongue.</p><p>“Nice to see you again,” she said amiably. “Muja fruit?”</p><p>He gaped as she pressed the fruit into his gloved hand and began to walk away, out into the downpour.</p><p>Din stared for several more seconds before he clenched his jaw and caught up with her, jogging out from underneath the awning and into the storm.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Din asked as he fell into step with her, tossing the muja fruit into a nearby barrel.</p><p>“I could ask you the same thing, Mandalorian. Lah’mu is far from Tython.”</p><p>“I already went to Tython.”</p><p>“I know,” she smiled. “You’re without your companion. You found a Jedi willing to train him?”</p><p>Din’s stomach twisted. “Yes, I did.” He grabbed her arm, pulling her into one of the alleys between the buildings, away from the bustle of people. “I need your help finding him.”</p><p>She peered up at him, blue eyes wide. “Why?”</p><p>“To get the kid.”</p><p>She studied him for several moments, before she shook her head and took a step back. “I can’t, I’m sorry. Grogu has chosen his path, and he chose to be a Jedi. It’s unwise to try and get him back now—he’s already attached to you, and consistently visiting and interrupting his training would only confuse him further—”</p><p>“No,” Din interrupted through gritted his teeth, frustrated. “He’s in danger.”</p><p>“Danger?”</p><p>“In one month, the temple that he runs will be burned to the ground and everyone inside of it—all of the <em>children</em>—will be dead.”</p><p>A shadow flickered across the Jedi’s face briefly, before it vanished without a trace. Her maroon lips curved into a frown, her forehead creasing. “How do you know this?”</p><p>“I saw it. I—I was <em>shown </em>it. There was a Jedi, on Coruscant—she had a vision of the massacre and showed it to me. She said it’ll happen in two months if I don’t stop it.”</p><p>Ahsoka’s frown deepened. “A Jedi on Coruscant? What was her name?”</p><p>“I don’t know, she didn’t say.”</p><p>She looked troubled briefly, but then her expression smoothed out to one of gentle compassion. “I can sense that this has been troubling you.”</p><p>Din said nothing. She reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder, in the damp space between his cape and his pauldron. “I think I can soothe some of your fears. Visions are a tricky thing… even some of the most experienced Masters in the Order struggled with them. The future is always in motion, and things that one sees in visions are just one possible outcome, or one interpretation, of a situation. We were always taught to treat visions with caution—to not let them guide our decisions, or cloud our judgment. You shouldn’t let it control you. Besides, events depicted in visions often never happen.”</p><p>“I can’t take that chance,” Din gritted out. “Not after what I saw. You don’t have to help me, but I’m not going to stop until I find him. I won’t let him die. I won’t.”</p><p>She looked at him for a long moment, before she removed her hand and sighed lightly, glancing away. Several minutes passed, the two standing in silence. Rainwater soaked into the Jedi’s cloak, turning the light gray fabric dark as it saturated the material. The edge of the roof above their heads dripped excess water onto the both of them, but she seemed to pay it no mind even as Din grew irritated with the runoff.</p><p>“How do you plan to find the Jedi?” Ahsoka asked suddenly, eyes fixated on a spot in the distance. Din glanced at what had captured her attention and saw a single Convor bird perched atop the eaves of a nearby roof, its gold and brown feathers looking dull and wet in the rain.</p><p>“That’s what I need your help with,” Din said, looking away from the unusual bird. “Is there any planet that one of your kind would be more likely to go? One that has some significance in—in your history, or religion, or something?”</p><p>Ahsoka shook her head. “There are many planets that are significant in some way to the Jedi. Most planets in the galaxy have been touched by them in some way or another, it would be difficult to pick an exact location. Not to mention most Jedi don’t want to be found… picking somewhere that’s sacred would only put a target on their back.”</p><p>Din’s heart sank to his feet. The first grips of panic began to take hold, tightening his lungs and speeding up his pulse, but he aggressively pushed it away. “There were two moons in the sky,” he said, fighting to keep his tone even. “Is there any planet that you can think of that has two moons that a Jedi would settle on? My friend and I made a list, maybe if you looked at it—”</p><p>“I don’t think that would be necessary.”</p><p>Irritation flooded Din. “Why not, it’s just a—”</p><p>“I have a better idea,” she interjected, holding up a hand. “I can’t guarantee it’ll work, but it’s worth a shot.”</p><p>“What is it?” Din asked, patience wearing thin.</p><p>“I can reach out into the Force and try to find the Force-presence of another Jedi,” she explained, gaze flitting across his helmet before landing right on the visor, where his eyes were hidden underneath. Din felt as though she was staring straight into his soul—like she was scanning him, sensing his emotions. It was unsettling. “I’m not sure what it will yield. I tried years ago, back when the Empire first rose to power, and didn’t feel anyone. Skilled Jedi can hide their Force presences, along with others. The man that has Grogu likely did the same, to protect himself and the children.”</p><p>“Try it,” Din urged, pushing away the fragile hope that had begun to blossom.“The man who took him looked young. Maybe he hasn’t learned that yet.”</p><p>Ahsoka looked thoughtful. “I’ll need to go somewhere quiet, where I can meditate. Searching for Force presences takes extreme concentration, especially without the use of another vessel like a seeing stone…”</p><p>“I can take you up into space, in my ship,” Din suggested, jumping on the opportunity. “I’ll even turn off the engines so that it’s silent. I’ll go to the other end of the ship too if that’s what it takes.”</p><p>The Jedi considered him, forehead creased. “This vision has really frightened you, hasn’t it?”</p><p>Din didn’t know what to say to that, so he kept silent. She stared at him a second longer, gaze searching, before she said, “I will help you, to the best of my abilities. Take me to your ship.”</p><p>—</p><p>When the two of them got back to the <em>Visionary</em>, Din was irked to see that part of his landing gear had sunk deep into the mud.</p><p>It was an inconvenience more than it was a problem, but Din was tired, wet, and irritated, so it angered him more than it should have.</p><p>“This takeoff is going to be a pain in the ass,” Din muttered, sending a scalding look towards the sludge. “Stupid kriffing mud planet.”</p><p>“You got a new ship,” Ahsoka commented from behind him, voice laced with curiosity.</p><p>Din made a noise of affirmation, fiddling with his vambrace. The on-ramp extracted from the ship, the edge of it landing on the muck with an unappealing squelching sound. “The old ship got blown up on Tython, by an Imp cruiser,” he muttered.</p><p>Ahsoka hummed, walking forward and placing a hand on the ship, caressing it like it was something precious. Din watched her, eyebrows raised. “This is an old Jedi gunship, from the Clone Wars,” she explained, looking up at it fondly. “I’ve flown many like it.”</p><p>“Did you know its owner?”</p><p>“I did. It belonged to Jedi Master Plo Koon. We were… close. Like family.” There was a note of profound sadness in her tone, one that Din recognized easily. He’d heard it himself, in the worn voices of elder members of his Covert when they spoke of Mandalore. It was an old sadness; a wound that had been ripped open, time and time again, until it scarred. “He was the one that brought me to the Order, to be trained. I have never known a kinder man.”</p><p>Something in Din’s chest tightened at her sorrow. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>She gazed up at the ship a second more, before she took her hand off the steel and walked away from it. “Thank you,” she said, giving him a sad smile. “I appreciate your sympathy.”</p><p>Din didn’t say anything, feeling slightly awkward in the wake of her genuine gratitude. She turned away from him and walked onto the ship, cloak billowing in the wind. He followed, ready to get out of the weather and off the wet planet.</p><p>Takeoff wasn’t as difficult as he thought it was going to be. The landing gear came free of the mud after a hard pull, and then they were off, soaring into the sky, through the thick gray clouds, and out into space.</p><p>He made good on his earlier word. The second that they exited Lah’mu’s atmosphere, he killed the <em>Visionary</em>’s engines and led Ahsoka to the back of the craft, where she would be the most isolated.</p><p>“Is this good?” he asked, once they were there. They were in the sleeping quarters, where Din languished over nightmares each night. “Do you… need anything?”</p><p>She turned to him, her eyes glowing and her mouth twitching. “Perhaps some muja fruit? You threw mine away, earlier.”</p><p>“Uh,” Din said awkwardly. “… I’m sure there’s some sort of fruit on this ship, I can—”</p><p>“I was joking,” Ahsoka said, grinning outright. She sat down on the steel floor, folding her legs in front of her. “You’re very literal. But then again, most Mandalorians are. I don’t need anything, just some quiet.” She balled her hands into fists and laid them on her thighs, her eyes falling shut.</p><p>Din stood there stiffly for a minute, unsure of what to do, before he said quietly, “I’ll be in the cockpit if—”</p><p>“Actually,” Ahsoka said, cracking an eye open. “I’d prefer if you stayed here. It’s nice to have another person around when I meditate. It helps ground me.”</p><p>Din stared at her as her eye slid shut again, before he slowly sat down on the ground. He leaned against one of the bunks, his knees pulled up, and observed.</p><p>Soon, the Jedi seemed to fall into a trance. He could see the change physically come over her, her body locking in place with it. It was almost like she was made of stone—her posture was stiff, her arms rigid, her features frozen. If Din wasn’t looking for the slight rise and fall of her shoulders, he would have thought that she wasn’t even breathing.</p><p>He quickly lost track of time. At some point, he leaned his helmet back against the metal bunk behind him, trying to soothe his aching neck. He was exhausted once again, having unable to get to sleep the previous night, and Ahsoka’s quiet breathing was as soothing as a lullaby. His limbs grew heavy, his eyes bleary, and he slowly let himself drift off, the ship and the Jedi disappearing until all he saw was darkness, punctured by the slow ignition of a red laser sword.</p><p>A hand on his shoulder pulled him out of the quickly developing nightmare, and he gave a full-body flinch away from it, his eyes shooting open.</p><p>The face of Ahsoka Tano swam before him. He blinked rapidly and sat up, instantly alert. “Did you find him?”</p><p>The sentence came out garbled, his tongue slow and heavy with sleep, but the Jedi seemed to understand what he said. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I did find someone, though. Their Force presence was strong… one of the strongest that I’ve felt in a long, long time, but it wasn’t hidden in the slightest. It was like a beacon, almost… and it didn’t come from a planet with two moons, it came from Hosnian Prime.”</p><p>Din absorbed her words slowly, carefully. As he took in their meaning, a hollow numbness began in his chest, spreading slowly down to his stomach. His eyes fixated on a spot just over Ahsoka’s bare shoulder as a ringing started in his ears, crushing devastation filling him until he couldn’t feel anything else.</p><p>“That’s it, then,” Din said, lips hardly moving. “He’s lost.”</p><p>Ahsoka’s eyes grew wide, and she held out her hands. “No, not necessarily. This is a good thing—one Jedi with the brightest Force presence I’ve sensed in decades is bound to lead to something. Maybe they know the Jedi that has Grogu, or maybe they <em>are </em>the Jedi that has Grogu—”</p><p>“The planet had two moons,” Din muttered, feeling numb. “Hosnian Prime has one. It’s not him.”</p><p>“You can’t give up hope just yet,” Ahsoka insisted. “There’s still a chance. Right now, Grogu’s still alive. Don’t mourn him until he’s actually gone.”</p><p>“I only have a month left,” Din croaked, turning to her. He couldn’t keep the anguish out of his voice even if he tried. “I can’t search the galaxy in a month. I can’t even make it to the other <em>side</em> of the galaxy in a month.”</p><p>“You don’t need to,” Ahsoka said firmly. There was a fire in her blue eyes now, burning intense and bright. “I have a good feeling about this, and my feelings are rarely wrong. We’re going to Hosnian Prime, and we’re going to save your son and all of those children. I refuse to let history repeat itself.”</p><p>She stood and stalked to the door, opening it with a wave of her hand. It shut behind her, and a few moments later the ship began to hum once more, signaling that the power had been restored to the engines. Din just sat there, unmoving, listening to the whirr of the hyperdrive powering up.</p><p>A few minutes later, the ship entered hyperspace, traveling at light speed to Hosnian Prime, where Ahsoka’s hope lay.</p><p>Din tipped his head back against the metal frame of the bunk and shut his wet eyes, his hope laying dead in his chest, where his heart once was.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh SNAP y'all we're three chapters away from the end! I'm soooo excited about these next few chapters, especially the one after next.<br/>Also, congrats to everyone who guessed it was Plo Koon! I'm surprised at how many of you got that -- kudos to you! Now, who wants to take a guess at what planet Grogu is on? It does exist in the Star Wars universe, though it has more of a story in Legends than it does in Canon. I'm curious to hear what you guys think :D<br/>Any and all feedback is much appreciated, especially comments, which fuel me. The last chapter kind of flopped, which I was a little bummed about, but I'm way too invested in this story to care too much about numbers and statistics, lol. I'll keep writing it, even as you all stop reading it.<br/>See you guys next week!<br/>Edit: The next chapter will be a few days late due to the start of a new semester at my college :D</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Senator</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <i>She was pale, with dark hair and red lips. Her small frame was hidden by heavy robes of crimson and delicate gold, her hair braided elegantly down her back. Upon first glance, it was visibly clear to Din that this woman was a senator.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>But the way she carried herself—shoulders back, chin raised, arm steady—was more akin to a fierce warrior than that of a politician. There was a glint in her dark eyes, one that spoke of promised violence should he make the wrong move.</i>
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  <i>Beside him, Ahsoka breathed, “Padmé?”</i>
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          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't know how to feel about this chapter, but oh well! Here you go.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was strange, sharing a ship with another person.</p><p>Nearly his entire life, he’d traveled solo. Ever since he’d gotten old enough to start taking bounties, he’d operated out of the <em>Razor Crest, </em>and he operated alone.</p><p>Then, of course, came Grogu. For two years of his life, he had a constant companion—one whose survival depended on him. He adapted to having another person around far quicker than he would have thought, and even though he had no experience with children and often had no idea what he was doing, he <em>enjoyed </em>having the kid around. He liked waking up and seeing him curled up in his bed, liked thinking out loud to him, liked being able to turn around and see his big, round eyes staring up at him like he’d hung the moons and stars.</p><p>So, naturally, when Grogu left, the emptiness of his new ship was overwhelming.</p><p>He disliked being able to hear the utter silence of space, broken only by the hum of the engine. It was so quiet that he could hear the breath escape his lungs, could feel the thumping of his heart, the sound of his eyelids coming together in a blink. There was no excited shrieking, curious gurgles, or soft snores. There was nothing but suffocating silence.</p><p>He expected traveling with Ahsoka to be much of the same. Jedi seemed to be like Mandalorians, in a way, and the Mandalorians he had grown up around preferred peaceful quiet to needless sound. He’d assumed that it would be days full of awkward silence, with her performing weird Jedi rituals and him brooding bitterly, staring out the viewport at nothing.</p><p>He quickly learned that wasn’t the case.</p><p>Though there were periods of silence between them, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was a peaceful quiet, one that they didn’t need to fill with small talk. And when they did converse, the words flowed naturally between them.</p><p>On the third day of travel out of the fifteen that it would take them to get to Hosnian Prime, Ahsoka turned to him and asked, “Do you ever take off your helmet?”</p><p>Din, who had been absently staring at the small metal ball that the kid loved so much, was surprised that she’d waited so long to ask. “No.”</p><p>She hummed, turning so that she was facing forward again, gazing out the viewport at hyperspace. “I’ve never met a Mandalorian that didn’t take off their helmet,” she mused aloud. “Even those in the Royal Guard took off their helmets occasionally.”</p><p>Din didn’t say anything to that, instead rolling the tiny ball in between his fingers, hating that he could almost feel the ghost of Grogu’s hands on it. It hurt more now than ever, with the knowledge that the child was going to die within the month.</p><p>He sucked in a shaky breath at the thought. He hoped that Ahsoka didn’t hear it.</p><p>“Is there a reason why?” Ahsoka prodded lightly, genuine curiosity coloring her tone.</p><p>Din swallowed, lowering the ball. “If I take off my helmet in the presence of another person, I can’t put it back on again. This is the Way.”</p><p>He could physically feel Ahsoka’s stare burning into the side of his helmet, but he ignored it in favor of tucking the silver ball into a pouch on his belt and sitting back in his chair.</p><p>“I’ve been to Mandalore, you know,” she said, “before the Empire destroyed it. I was there in the final days of the Clone Wars, before… before.”</p><p>Din turned to look at her, noting the change in her tone. She was staring out the viewport, her blue eyes reflecting the chaotic blend of color that was hyperspace.</p><p>These brief moments of sadness occurred often with the Jedi. She was usually in high spirits—Din had a feeling it was to contrast him, as he had spent the last days in stony silence, mourning the child that had yet to die—but occasionally she would say something and her sunny disposition would dim. She would fall into silence, her expression solemn and mournful.</p><p>Din wondered what happened in her past that made her look like that. She looked around his age, if not a little bit older, but in those brief moments of overwhelming sorrow, she looked like the battle-hardened warriors of his Covert, their shoulders slumped in grief and exhaustion.</p><p>Perhaps it was the Clone Wars. Perhaps it was nineteen years of Empirical Rule. Din wasn’t about to ask and find out.</p><p>“I’ve never been to Mandalore,” Din found himself saying, before lapsing back into silence.</p><p>“Really? Were you born after it got destroyed?”</p><p>Din grimaced slightly, regretting continuing the conversation. “No. I was a foundling. My village was destroyed during the Clone Wars. A group of Mandalorians saved me.”</p><p>“Interesting,” Ahsoka remarked. “I’m sort of like you, then. I was born on Shili but was raised in the Jedi Temple, on Coruscant.”</p><p>“Jedi and Mandalorians are nothing alike,” Din retorted, irritated. “We’re supposed to be enemies.”</p><p>“Perhaps,” Ahsoka said, and there was a smile in her voice. “But we’ve been flying for three days and have yet to kill each other.”</p><p>Din exhaled loudly through his nose and said nothing. Truthfully, he found her far more palatable than the other Mandalorians he had met. She, at least, didn’t try to kill him while he was sleeping.</p><p>But he would, of course, never say that aloud.</p><p>On the eighth day of travel into the Core, as they sat in the small kitchen area eating a makeshift breakfast of powdery eggs and thinly sliced tubers, Ahsoka said, “You know you’re Force-sensitive, right?”</p><p>Din, who’d been in the middle of swallowing a bite of tuber, inhaled sharply and nearly choked. “I—what?” Din choked out, eyes watering as he lowered his helmet so that it concealed his chin.</p><p>Ahsoka raised her eyebrows. “You’re slightly Force-sensitive,” she told him. “I didn’t realize it until Lah’mu. I guess Grogu’s Force-presence was so bright that it cast a shadow over yours. Your sensitivity isn’t great enough to wield its power, but you can still feel its pull.”</p><p>Din stared at her for a long moment, before turning away. “You’re mistaken,” he said gruffly. “I don’t even know what the Force is.”</p><p>“Neither did I, when I first went into the Order,” she said matter-of-factly. “It was likely the Force that led you to Lah’mu, where I was.</p><p>Din shook his head, but said nothing. He had no patience for this conversation and wanted to just finish his breakfast, then go back to brooding silently in the cockpit.</p><p>Ahsoka, however, wasn’t done. She leaned forward, elbows resting on the metal table. “Have you ever felt pulled to something, and not understood why?”</p><p>Din remained silent.</p><p>“It’s like this <em>feeling, </em>leading and guiding you.It’s inexplicable, but it's there, and it’s difficult to ignore. Have you ever had a feeling that something was going to strike you before it actually did?”</p><p>“It’s nothing but intuition,” Din muttered, standing up and grabbing his hardly touched breakfast. “I’m a Mandalorian. We don’t use sorcery.”</p><p>“Being Force-sensitive is not something that you choose,” Ahsoka pointed out. “It’s in your blood, just as it is Grogu’s.”</p><p>Din slammed his plate down into the basin next to the refrigerator unit. “There’s nothing in my blood,” he snarled. “I do not have any powers. I can’t lift anything with my mind, or heal people, or do anything like that. I’m not one of you. I’m a Mandalorian, and nothing else.”</p><p>He turned and walked away before she could respond.</p><p>—</p><p>After Din forcibly ended their discussion, Ahsoka didn’t bring up his supposed “Force sensitivity” again. They coexisted peacefully for the entire trip to Hosnian Prime, and the fifteen days it took to get there felt like the longest of Din’s life. Anxiety kept him from sleeping, and he spent most of his days in the cockpit, small metal ball in hand, staring at hyperspace.</p><p>When he was able to get a few hours of rest, his sleep was plagued with the same nightmares that he’d been having for the past month. He often woke up sweaty and panting, disorientation giving way to a fatal mixture of dread and grief.</p><p>He wondered if Ahsoka heard his nightmares. If she did, she gave no sign of it.</p><p>On the fifteenth day of travel, Din pulled the <em>Visionary</em> out of hyperspace and into the Hosnian System, drifting slowly to the ecumenopolis.</p><p>Ahsoka stood behind him, hand resting on the back of the pilot seat as she peered at the planet before them.</p><p>“Hosnian Prime,” she murmured. “It’s expanded since I’ve been here last.”</p><p>Din observed it, taking in its singular moon with distaste. <em>This is a waste of time.</em> “Do you know where the Jedi is?”</p><p>“Not precisely, but that shouldn’t be a problem. The Force will guide me.”</p><p>Din rolled his eyes, the gesture concealed by his helmet, and gently accelerated towards the celestial body. It resembled Coruscant, in a way—it had the same branching veins of dotted city lights, the same singular sun. The planet’s surface was even the same vague blue color, though slightly lighter in shade. The main difference between the two was that Hosnian Prime’s neighboring planets were much closer—so close that you could see their features from the <em>Visionary</em>’s position in space; Cardota’s delicate planetary rings and Raysho’s thick layer of gas clouds.</p><p>Din hadn’t been to Hosnian Prime before, but he knew of its significance to the New Republic. It was where the Senate was located, and was the capital when the title wasn’t being held by Chandrila or Nakadia. Din leaned back in his chair as he took it all in, his eyes drifting to the several satellites that orbited the planet.</p><p>He stared at them, wondering why the sight of them made his stomach churn with unease. His mind felt slow, his thoughts laggy and unintelligible—he was running on little sleep, and the exhaustion cast a thick, impervious cloud over his mind. He narrowed his eyes at the metal satellites, which were beginning to turn slightly.</p><p> Satellites were bad, and he couldn’t recall why.</p><p>Suddenly, Ahsoka stiffened behind him, her hand clenching on the soft material of the pilot seat. “Go!” she cried, and Din jumped violently.</p><p>“What?! Why?!” he barked, twisting to look at her.</p><p>“Those satellites are going to fire,” she said, moving to try and grab hold of the controller. “We’re going to be vaporized! Go!”</p><p>Din gunned it, throwing the accelerator lever forward. The <em>Visionary </em>shot through space, hurtling towards the gently rotating planet. He grit his teeth as he saw the satellites shifting out of the corners of his eyes, remembering that he was considered a fugitive by the New Republic.</p><p>“Why the hell are they trying to fire at us?” Ahsoka asked.</p><p>Din grimaced. “I’m wanted by the New Republic,” he said, tilting the controller downward as they began to enter the atmosphere. “I blew up a few X-wings.”</p><p>“Why?!”</p><p>“It’s a long story,” Din said, glancing behind him. “We should abort and search somewhere el—.”</p><p>“Absolutely not,” Ahsoka said, cutting him off. “There’s a Jedi on this planet. It is our only lead.”</p><p>“This karking planet doesn’t even have two moons,” Din muttered, scowling. “And you don’t even know where the Jedi is.”</p><p>“We’ll find them,” Ahsoka said, and there was a note of certainty in her tone that Din couldn’t deny. “Fly in between the buildings. I’ll let you know if I feel something.”</p><p><em>Great, going off a </em>feeling, Din thought scathingly, but did what she asked. He kept the <em>Visionary </em>close to the towering skyscrapers, flying as fast as he could without crashing into one of the structures.</p><p>It was midday on the urban planet, which made maneuvering his ship around the buildings easier. There was air traffic, but not nearly as much as there had been on Coruscant, and even though he had a couple of close calls with a few air-speeders, his path was largely unobstructed.</p><p>He flew them to a densely populated area in the epicenter of Republic City, the capital of Hosnian Prime. There were bridged walkways, ornate metal sculptures, and lush, green parks—he noted their presence as another difference from Coruscant, which had no verdure at all. All of the grass on Coruscant was synthetic, while Hosnian Prime seemed to have preserved the planet’s vegetation, building around it instead of on top of it.</p><p>The senate building loomed ahead. It resembled the Galactic Republic’s old building on Coruscant, but with subtle changes in the architecture. The Rebel Starbird was proudly displayed on the side of it, the gold insignia shining bright in the sun.</p><p>“We’re being tailed,” Ahsoka informed him in a low voice. “One X-wing.”</p><p>Din glanced at his radar. “We need to get out of here.”</p><p>“We can’t. We’re close—I can feel it.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, I can feel that we’re about to be shot out of the sky,” Din snapped, losing his patience. He was no good to Grogu dead. “We have to go <em>now.”</em></p><p>The Jedi didn’t respond. Din angled the controller upward, twirling the ship around a large skyscraper, to try and shake the X-wing. It didn’t work, so he flew over the senate building, hugging the domed top.</p><p>“There!” Ahsoka said, pointing at a tall building on the other side of the senate building. From the distance they were at, it looked like it was made almost entirely of glass, the bright afternoon sun reflecting off the panes. “They’re in there, I can feel them.”</p><p>“Great. How the hell are we supposed to get in there?” Din instinctively yanked the controller to the side as a laser was fired at them. “We can’t exactly land in a hangar.”</p><p>“We don’t need to,” Ahsoka said, and there was something new in her voice. Something burning, something bright. “Land on top of the building. We’ll get in that way.”</p><p>“We’ll get shot down as we land.”</p><p>“Not if we land fast enough.”</p><p>“They’ll destroy my ship and won’t leave us a way to escape.”</p><p>“Not if we shake the ship first. Fly in the opposite direction of the building. I’ll get him to stop following us.”</p><p>“How are you going to do that?” he glanced behind him and saw Ahsoka moving towards the back of the ship. He saw her hand glide across the number pad on the wall, and then the door slid open with a loud <em>whooshing </em>sound. His eyes widened as she grinned at him, showing her pointed teeth.</p><p>“I’m going to try out a new trick I’ve been practicing.” There was contained excitement in her tone, only audible in her lifted and airy syllables. “Be there to pick me up.”</p><p>And then she ran and jumped off the ship, into the open air.</p><p>Din barely held back a cry of surprise. He forced his eyes back to the sky in front of him, mind racing.</p><p><em>Is she insane? </em>He thought, resisting the urge to crane his neck to see where she’d gone. He gritted his teeth and pulled the controller inward, towards his chest. The ship responded in kind, stopping abruptly and then jolting backward.</p><p>He spotted Ahsoka standing on the aircraft canopy of the X-wing. Her cloak whipped in the harsh wind as she crouched down, laying a hand on the transparisteel and closing her eyes.</p><p>Din, attempting to watch both her and the sky, maneuvered so that he was flying slightly behind and underneath the red and white X-wing. He was in a good position to catch the Jedi should she fall, but she appeared to be steady on the aircraft.</p><p>A few seconds later, the X-wing stuttered in flight before dipping left away from him. Ahsoka leapt off the craft before it started to fly away, landing steadily atop the <em>Visionary </em>with an audible <em>thunk </em>that shook the entire ship.</p><p>About a minute later, she was entering the cockpit, windswept and grinning.</p><p>“It worked,” she said, coming to stand behind him.</p><p>“How did you get him to back off? What did you do?”</p><p>“Oh, just used a trick that I was taught.”</p><p>“What tr—”</p><p>“You should be clear to land on the roof, now.”</p><p>Din clenched his jaw but didn’t inquire further. He landed the <em>Visionary </em>neatly on the roof, and then the two of them were running down the off-ramp and towards the metal door with the words “<em>Roof Access” </em>printed on it.</p><p>The apartment building, once Din and Ahsoka got into it, was extremely lavish. It was carpeted, finely decorated, and well lit—even in the stairwell.</p><p>“What room are they in?” Din asked, running down the stairs.</p><p>“I don’t know,” Ahsoka said, keeping pace with him. “I only—” She cut off abruptly, whirling around and igniting her laser swords in single movement, blocking several blaster bolts that were rained down towards them. “We’ve got company!”</p><p>“Dank farrik,” Din muttered, increasing his speed. <em>Of course, this building has security. That would be just my luck, wouldn’t it?</em> “We’ve got to—”</p><p>“This way!” Ahsoka cried out, grabbing his arm and tugging him towards one of the doors. It led to a long and empty hallway.</p><p>“They’re on this floor. I can feel them.” They were sprinting now, arms and legs pumping. The Jedi’s laser-sword hummed with the rush of movement and Din’s blaster slapped him awkwardly in the thigh.</p><p>Suddenly, Ahsoka stopped. Din nearly slipped on the carpet in his haste to slow down, whipping around to face his companion, who was peering curiously at the door to one of the apartments. The sign on the door said <em>2-187.</em></p><p>“Here,” she said, her voice low and quiet. Din could hardly hear it over the gentle purr of her laser-swords. “I think they’re in here.”</p><p>“Do you want me to break down the door?”</p><p>Ahsoka turned to him, the white markings above her eyes raised. “If you think it necessary.”</p><p>Din shrugged, before he backed up, braced, and kicked in the wooden door to apartment 2-187. He withdrew his blaster from its holster, and the two of them rushed in.</p><p>Apartment 2-187 was simple, bright, and clean. Din’s quick glance around the room told him that there were white walls and abundance of plants, as well as rich, blue fabrics and shades of pale gold. Natural light spilled in from the large windows, throwing sunbeams on the furniture and on the woman who stood in the living space, small pistol pointed right at the two of them.</p><p>She was pale, with dark hair and red lips. Her small frame was hidden by heavy robes of crimson and delicate gold, her hair braided elegantly down her back. Upon first glance, it was visibly clear to Din that this woman was a senator.</p><p>But the way she carried herself—shoulders back, chin raised, arm steady—was more akin to a fierce warrior than that of a politician. There was a glint in her dark eyes, one that spoke of promised violence should he make the wrong move.</p><p>Beside him, Ahsoka breathed, <em>“Padmé?”</em></p><p>The woman’s sharp eyes fell on Din’s companion, and Ahsoka’s shocked expression visibly bled away into a mask of passivity, her back straightening and her shoulders falling back. Clear, azure eyes flitted scanned the woman, and then the blades of her swords retracted into the hilts.</p><p>Din, however, didn’t lower his weapon, and neither did the woman. Her jaw clenched and she snapped, “Who the hell are you?”</p><p>Din didn’t answer. Ahsoka, however, stepped forward and bowed lightly. “Apologies for the intrusion, ma’am. I’m afraid I thought you were someone else.”</p><p>The woman did not looked placated, and she did not lower her blaster. “What gives you the right to barge into my apartment like this? Who are you?”</p><p>Ahsoka bowed again. “My name is Ahsoka Tano and this is my friend, Din Djarin. We were looking for someone and I thought they were in this apartment. I was mistaken.”</p><p>Din’s gaze darted to his companion, anger and shock warring within him. Anger at the fact that the Ahsoka had been wrong about the Jedi being in this apartment; that they had wasted precious, valuable time coming here, and shock at the fact that she knew his name without him giving it.</p><p>“Who are you looking for?” the woman demanded. “And where did you get a lightsaber?”</p><p>Ahsoka visibly started, eyes widening imperceptibly. “Are you a Jedi?”</p><p>“No,” the woman snapped. “I’m not.”</p><p>Ahsoka looked confused, and Din was quickly losing his patience. “Listen lady,” he said, and the woman looked at him, eyes narrowed. “I don’t have time for this. Are you a Jedi or no?”</p><p>“Are your ears full of bantha crap? I already said I’m not. And I should be the one asking the questions, not you. <em>You </em>broke into my apartment.” She scowled at him and adjusted the grip on her pistol. “Why do you need a Jedi?”</p><p>Ahsoka glanced between them and stepped forward. “There has been a misunderstanding. We’ll be going now.”</p><p>“Not until you answer my question. Why are you looking for a Jedi?”</p><p>“We—”</p><p>“Because one has my kid, that’s why,” Din said through gritted teeth, fighting the urge to shoot her. Instead, he holstered his blaster and turned to Ahsoka. “Let’s get out of here. I told you this was a waste of time.” He walked past her, towards the door. His chest was beginning to hurt again—the same sharp pain that he felt every time he realized that the odds of him saving Grogu were slim and that his child would soon die a gruesome death, alone and afraid. He resisted the urge to rub at the beskar covering his torso.</p><p>
  <em>Twelve more days. Twelve more days and he’ll be gone forever.</em>
</p><p>“Wait. You said one has your kid?”</p><p>Din stopped and looked at her sharply. She had relaxed her hostile posture, the gun hanging loosely at her side. Her face was stormy, but there was something new in her eyes—something that began to dull the ache in Din’s chest.</p><p>“Yes,” he said. “He’s in danger.”</p><p>The woman’s eyebrows came together, a small wrinkle forming in between them. “From who?”</p><p>“I’m not sure,” Din said. “I was shown a vision of future events. There was a man with a red laser—er, lightsaber. He kills all the children in the temple.”</p><p>She looked startled for a second before her expression smoothed out. “Your child. What’s his name?”</p><p>Din’s throat felt tight. “Grogu. His name is Grogu.”</p><p>There was a flicker of recognition in her dark eyes, and Din latched onto it desperately. “Do you know him?”</p><p>She pondered this for a moment, pursing her painted red lips. “I think I do. My… friend runs a school for children who can wield the Force, and trains them to be Jedi. He found his most recent addition nearly a year ago, on an Imperial lightcruiser. He never mentioned a Mandalorian.”</p><p>“That’s him,” Din breathed, a lump forming in his throat as he was hit with several strong emotions at once. His eyes pricked with the onslaught, relief so great it nearly brought him to his knees. “Do you know where he is?”</p><p>She pressed her lips together. “The location of the temple is top secret. I can’t just give away the information to a stranger, no matter what the situation is.”</p><p>“I’ll take it to my death. Please, just—”</p><p>“I can’t. They would be in danger—far greater danger than what you’ve seen. I’ll send in a—”</p><p><em>“Please,” </em>Din whispered desperately, stripped raw and bleeding out in front of this stranger. “I can’t let him die. He’s my child—he’s my <em>son. </em>He’s all I have. Please.”</p><p>As the words left his trembling lips, he became acutely aware that he was begging like some helpless, shameless thing. It was utterly unbecoming of a Mandalorian.</p><p>But as his heart pounded in his ears, a never-ending staccato of <em>“save Grogu”, </em>he found that he couldn’t bring himself to care.</p><p>Oddly, Migs Mayfeld’s words echoed in his ears, <em>“Seems to me like your rules start to change when you get desperate.”</em></p><p>It seemed to work, however. The woman paused. “Are you sure of what you saw?”</p><p>“Positive,” Din whispered.</p><p>Her eyes flitted across his helmet-covered face, and then she said softly, “The Jedi you’re looking for is named Luke Skywalker.”</p><p><em>“Skywalker?” </em>Ahsoka choked out.</p><p><em>“Where?” </em>Din insisted.</p><p>“The temple is on a small planet in the Outer Rim called Ossus.”</p><p><em>Ossus. </em>Din’s mind immediately began racing, running calculations of travel times and fuel range. Ossus wasn’t too far—it was near Felucia, if memory served—and if he flew fast enough and left immediately, he would make it.</p><p>It would be so, so close. But he would make it.</p><p>The woman was still speaking, and he turned back into what she was saying. “—me that he’d found another Force-sensitive child, he hadn’t mentioned anything about a father. I suppose I should tell you, he’s been having issues with him for months now.”</p><p>“Issues?”</p><p>“He doesn’t listen very well.”</p><p>Din scoffed, a smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah. You’re telling me.”</p><p>The woman’s mouth quirked up in a small smile, before it faded. She drew herself up, face setting. “I’ll send some ships to aid you. I’ll be there as well, in a few days. I just have to finish things up here first.”</p><p>Din nodded, heart swelling with gratitude. “Thank you for your help, Miss…”</p><p>“Call me Leia. Leia Organa Solo.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry that this was so late. A new semester started at college and it has just obliterated me. There may be a little bit more time in between updates (and by more time, I mean like a day or two more) but this fic <i>will</i> get finished. You have my word lol.<br/>Also! Next chapter is going to be really big and I'm super hyped about it. I hope you all are hyped too.<br/>Feedback is much appreciated, as always. Thank you all for your continued support of this fic, it means so much. See you all soon :D<br/>Follow me on <a href="https://thestarvingwriter.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The Temple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>
  <i>He made a choked noise, which made Ahsoka turn to look at him. Panic rose so quickly within him that his head spun, and he managed, “Fire. I smell fire.”</i>
</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here it is! The climax! I hope you all enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as they were off Hosnian Prime and en-route to Ossus, Din contacted Cara.</p><p>Ahsoka had disappeared into the ship as soon as they’d reached hyperspace, murmuring something about meditation. She’d hardly spoken since they’d left Leia’s apartment, after bowing low and thanking the senator for her help. She looked more troubled than he’d ever seen her, blue eyes stormy and disturbed.</p><p>Din wondered what the surname “Skywalker” meant to her. It certainly meant nothing to him.</p><p>He’d set the coordinates as soon as they’d gotten out of the atmosphere, looking at the estimated twelve days of flight time with a bit of despondency. His quick calculations in Leia’s apartment had been off—they would arrive on the remote planet exactly two months after he was shown the vision on Coruscant.</p><p>It was too close, and if the Pantoran Jedi on Coruscant had been just the slightest bit wrong about the timing, it would be too late.</p><p>So he made a desperate call to his friends on Nevarro. The volcanic planet was far closer to Ossus than Hosnian Prime was, so perhaps Cara could make it there before him. Cara answered almost immediately, her stocky figure appearing in holographic blue on the dash.</p><p>It appeared that the wave of luck he’d been riding had crashed, however. Cara was on Tatooine on Marshal business, a full two-week trip from Ossus. Din tried not to let the dejection show in his tone, but Cara promised gently that she’d leave immediately for Ossus and meet him there.</p><p>Out of options, Din was forced to sit in the pilot seat of his ship, the minutes and hours ticking by like a doomsday clock, and wait.</p><p>He felt better than he did on the journey to Hosnian Prime, having been given a reason to be tentatively hopeful by Leia, but he still struggled to get enough sleep to feel rested when he woke up, and his thoughts were still heavy and dark.</p><p>As the long, repetitive days wore on, however, the reluctant hope was snuffed by crippling anxiety.</p><p>He spent the days pacing the ship and the nights restless in his bunk. Intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts of being too late and finding his child dead rotted his brain, leaving him consistently shaky and irritable, snapping at Ahsoka for doing simple things, like breathing or talking.</p><p>He could feel her concerned stare boring into the back of his head more often than not, round eyes narrowed in concentration. Sleep deprivation made him paranoid that she was trying to read his mind, but he refused to give voice to his suspicions, knowing that they’d only make him sound like a lunatic.</p><p>On day eight of travel and day four of no sleep, he laid on his bunk in the sleeping quarters, bloodshot eyes staring through the visor of his helmet at the ceiling above him, hands resting on his armored stomach.</p><p>Ahsoka wasn’t asleep yet, though she was putting up a good act of making it seem like she was. Her breaths were even, her body completely still—but occasionally, her inhales were too deep and her exhales too shallow, cluing him in on her conscious state.</p><p>He didn’t pay much attention to it. His thoughts were spiraling once more, reality mixing with dream mixing with vision, and a mantra of <em>four days </em>matched the beat of his pulse, slightly elevated.</p><p>“You can’t keep going on like this,” Ahsoka said then, breaking the silence.</p><p>Din jolted in surprise, head turning to where his companion lay, on her respective bunk. She was staring at him, blue eyes piercing in the half-darkness. He looked away and didn’t say anything.</p><p>He heard her get up and pad quietly across the floor, coming to a stop next to where he lay, trembling with exhaustion.</p><p>“You haven’t slept in four days, my friend,” she said softly. “I can feel your exhaustion.”</p><p>Din was silent, not meeting her gaze. His jaw clenched, another tremor running through him, his body jolting with it.</p><p>“I can help,” she said, and he couldn’t help but notice that she was speaking to him as one would to a wounded animal—quiet, careful.</p><p>Perhaps he was a wounded animal. He felt wild enough, hurt enough, to be one. It was like he couldn’t control his mind or body, couldn’t keep himself from agonizing over witnessing the prophetic death of his child, couldn’t remember his Creed or anything about being a Mandalorian, could only remember how Grogu’s tiny hand fit in his own, how his big eyes reflected the clusters of stars and colorful nebulas, how he squealed when he was excited, how he whined when he was scared.</p><p>“Will I feel his death?” Din asked hoarsely.</p><p>Ahsoka didn’t say anything.</p><p>“You said I’m Force-sensitive. Would I feel it, when he dies?”</p><p>She let out a quiet sigh. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”</p><p>He nodded jerkily, exhaling.</p><p>“But I do know one thing,” she laid a hand on his arm. “You’re no good to him like this. You’ve got to sleep.”</p><p>“I can’t,” he bit out. “I can’t stop thinking.”</p><p>“I can help with that.”</p><p>Din scoffed bitterly. “You can’t stop me from thinking.”</p><p>“No, but I can make you sleep.”</p><p>His eyebrows raised, and he turned his head to look at her. “How?”</p><p>“With the Force. I can use it to sedate you.”</p><p>“I don’t want you in my head.”</p><p>“I won’t be inside your head,” she promised, the quiet words ringing sincere. “I just want you to sleep. You need to be rested for our arrival on Ossus, especially if we’re to face what you saw.”</p><p>Din considered it, turning away from her and staring back up at the steel above his bunk. The tiredness felt like a physical weight on him, making his reactions slow, his limbs uncooperative. Ahsoka was right—he was no good to Grogu like this. If they got there in time, he would be useless in a fight; a liability. He needed to sleep.</p><p>“Would I dream?” he asked.</p><p>“No. Complete, dreamless sleep. It’s almost like being unconscious.”</p><p>He nodded. “Do it, then.”</p><p>Ahsoka was quiet for a moment, before she said hesitantly, “There’s a slight issue. I need access to your temples, so you’re going to need to take off your helmet.” She paused. “I’m sorry, I know you can’t take it off, and I can—”</p><p>But Din was already rising into a sitting position, legs swinging over the edge of his bunk, back twinging with the movement. He paused with his fingers on the rim of his helmet, stomach clenching with dread.</p><p><em>It’s for him, </em>he told himself, squeezing his eyes shut. <em>It’s for Grogu. This is the only way.</em></p><p>
  <em>You can’t save him like this.</em>
</p><p>Steeling himself, he clenched his fingers on his helmet and removed it in one movement, ripping it off like a bandage. It fell to the floor with a hollow <em>clunk, </em>rolling underneath the bunks.</p><p>His long hair fell into his eyes as he squinted up at the Jedi, the unfiltered light burning his eyes. She peered curiously down at him, cerulean eyes darting over his face.</p><p>He felt like he was being examined, and it made his skin crawl. He swallowed around his dry throat and said awkwardly, “Should I be… laying down?”</p><p>Her eyes snapped to his. “Preferably.”</p><p>He nodded, laying back down on the hard mattress. She sat on the steel edge of the bed frame, reaching out slowly to place two fingers on both of his temples, pressing her thumbs gently on his creased forehead.</p><p>“Shut your eyes,” she said softly, and he complied instantly, the dim light of the sleep quarters snuffed out by the cool darkness of his eyelids.</p><p>Instantly, he was on the edge of sleep. His body felt heavy, his face muscles falling slack. Soft, pleasant clouds began creeping into his mind, replacing the violence with serenity, the pain with peace.</p><p>On the edge of unconsciousness, he heard Ahsoka murmur, “Three, two, one.”</p><p>—</p><p>He awoke with sore muscles and a dry, cottony mouth.</p><p>The ache was a pleasant one, though. It was his body telling him that it was time to move, so he got up and fished his helmet out from underneath the bunk and put it back on, forcibly ignoring the twist of guilt that the simple action wrought.</p><p>When he got out to the cockpit, he found Ahsoka curled up against the wall, deep in meditation. She cracked an eye open when she saw him approach, and a small smile crossed her face.</p><p>“You’re awake,” she remarked, eye sliding shut once more. “Good. You slept for two days.”</p><p>Din jolted, eyes widening. <em>“Two days?”</em></p><p>She hummed. “Your body was replenishing its energy. I put you in a healing trance, of sorts—you would only wake up when you were well-rested enough to. Apparently, that took two days.”</p><p>Din blinked rapidly, processing that information, before he was struck with the crippling realization that their arrival on Ossus was two days away.</p><p>It both elevated his anxiety and soothed it. While he was terrified of what he would find on the desolate planet, anything was better than the perpetual waiting game he was trapped in.</p><p><em>Please let me get there in time, </em>he prayed as he sat down in the pilot’s chair. <em>Please.</em></p><p>A silence fell in the cockpit. Ahsoka fell back into her mediation and Din stared out the viewport, mind spinning.</p><p>Suddenly, the holocom on the dash beeped, blue light blinking. Din frowned at it for a brief moment before accepting the transmission.</p><p>The petite figure of Senator Organa appeared in bright, holographic blue. Din’s eyes widened and he leaned forward, curious.</p><p>“Senator,” he acknowledged, bowing his head slightly. He heard Ahsoka get up and pad across the floor, coming to a stop behind his right shoulder.</p><p>“Din, Ahsoka,” she said, mimicking Din’s respectful nod. “I have some news about the temple.”</p><p>Din’s heart jolted, breaking out into a sprint. “News?”</p><p>“Yes. I’ve tried to comm Luke several times over the past few days, but he hasn’t answered.”</p><p>A ringing filled Din’s ears, sharp and piercing. His breath audibly hitched as his lungs constricted, stomach sinking to his feet.</p><p>“This isn’t unusual for him, necessarily,” Leia continued, but Din could hardly hear her. Everything felt warped, disjointed. “He’s gone a few weeks without answering my calls before, but I thought you two should be aware. When will you arrive?”</p><p>“We’re about two days out,” Ahsoka informed her, laying a hand on Din’s arm like he could sense his panic. If he could breathe, he’d shake it off. “We’re going as fast as we can.”</p><p>“I left Hosnian Prime a few days ago, so I should be arriving shortly as well. The ships I sent are en-route and should get there a few hours after you do. The temple is located on the southern side of the planet, near an oasis. You can’t miss it.”</p><p>“We appreciate it, Senator. We’ll do all we can to get the initiates safe once we arrive.”</p><p>“May the Force be with you two.”</p><p>Ahsoka bowed. “And you, Senator Organa.”</p><p>The hologram faded, and Din sat back in his seat, his hands clamping on the metal armrests.</p><p>“I’m sure they’re fine,” Ahsoka said. It rang hollow.</p><p>Din stared out into hyperspace, swallowed down the bile rising in his throat, and said nothing.</p><p>—</p><p>Two days later, the <em>Visionary </em>made it to the Adega system, and Din slammed into dark, empty realspace.</p><p>Ossus was situated a good distance away from any hyperlanes, so they had to travel sub-light for a few hours to reach it. Din sat in the pilot chair and tapped his fingers aggressively on the armrests, and Ahsoka curled silently in the passenger seat, staring out the viewport.</p><p>The Jedi had sedated him with her powers twice more, as Din’s insomnia didn’t let up. His thoughts during the day were as dark and chaotic as ever, but the magic that Ahsoka used on him worked amazingly at night, successfully shutting out all the nightmares.</p><p>“Where did you learn to do this?” he’d asked her, on the second night.</p><p>She paused with her fingers halfway to his temples, but then laid the pads of them on his head, thumbs pressing on his forehead. He shut his eyes, waiting for the rush of sleep.</p><p>“When I fought in the Clone Wars, I was a Padawan learner. An apprentice of sorts, to use a more common term.” She spoke softly, her voice nearly a whisper. “My master was a Jedi knight named Anakin. He was powerful, kind, and strong, but he… he had horrible, horrible nightmares. We shared an apartment, in the temple on Coruscant, and more often than not I would wake to him screaming.”</p><p>Din’s eyelids began to droop, his mind starting to fog over, but he grasped onto the last tendrils of consciousness to hear her story.</p><p>“I tried talking to him about them, but he was stubborn as a bantha. So instead, I scoured the archives, trying to find a solution, whether it be sound-proofing or some elaborate Force-suggestion. During my search, I found the instructions on how to sedate with the Force, so I decided to learn it to help him.</p><p>“It took months. The skills were far more advanced than I had in my repertoire at the time, so I struggled to grasp the concepts. But I ended up mastering it a few months before I left the Order. I would sneak into his room and sedate him before any nightmares started. It worked amazingly, for the amount of time that I did it, but it only lasted until I left. I guess… I guess the nightmares returned, then.”</p><p>Din had dropped off to sleep then, but her story had stuck with him. It was strange, hearing about life before the Empire—he remembered his parents talking about the Clone Wars, but those memories were muddy, drowned out by more vivid ones of explosions and screaming. He wondered what it was like, out on the battlefield, with the fields of droids and raining gunfire.</p><p>He looked over at her from his seat and saw that her gaze had turned vacant, eyes unseeing. She seemed to be lost in thought; a common occurrence with her. Jedi seemed rather introspective, he mused, turning away.</p><p>The hours wore on, and he eventually got up and started pacing, nervous energy needing an outlet. His mind was shooting off scenarios and possible outcomes, which left him anxiously checking his weapons, going through a checklist in his head: <em>whistling birds, vibro-blade, beskar staff, blaster, backup blaster, whipcord, flamethrower, detonators. </em>He longed for his arsenal on the <em>Razor Crest, </em>but his casual weapons would have to do.</p><p>Before long, Ossus came into view. The planet itself had a distinct dusty orange hue, with splotches of bright yellow. Pockets of lightning scattered across its surface, flashing electric white and purple. The twin moons, Mim and Nerit, hung next to the body, the former larger than the latter.</p><p>It wasn’t the most vibrant and lush planet—most of the terrain was black rock and orange sand, though there were small, isolated areas of greenery. Din wondered why the Jedi had chosen Ossus of all places, but perhaps it held significance that he was unaware of.</p><p>He pushed the accelerator lever forward, increasing their speed. His heart pounded beneath his ribs as the ship broke into the atmosphere, his gloved hands clenched around the controls.</p><p>Ahsoka stood behind him, hand on the back of his chair. He flew southward, just like Leia had told him to, and the sky got increasingly darker the further down he went, the suns dipping below the horizon to be replaced by the twin moons. The landscape grew mountainous as well, which made flying more difficult. He nearly clipped the edge of a jagged cliff edge but managed to jerk the controller at the last second.</p><p>After about an hour of flying, Ahsoka murmured, “I think we’re getting close.”</p><p>Din glanced at her. “How do you know?”</p><p>“Just a feeling.”</p><p>He went faster, swerving around the rock formations. Flying was getting nearly impossible—it was dark and the terrain was rocky and uneven, but he couldn’t pull up much, for fear of missing the temple entirely.</p><p>“I don’t know how much farther I can fly,” he muttered, narrowly missing a rock.</p><p>“We’ll have to walk, then,” Ahsoka said calmly. “Land on that plateau, over there. I think we’re close enough that we can make it there on foot.”</p><p>Din nodded, flying the <em>Visionary </em>over to the rocky plateau and touching down gently. They exited the ship and kept going forward, on foot.</p><p>The trek was silent, the only sound being the gentle chirping of insects and their combined footsteps. The night was cool, but not cold enough to worry. A chilly breeze gently blew Ahsoka’s gray cloak. A bird wailed in the distance.</p><p>As they were climbing up a steep cliff, Din gave breath to the thought that had been gnawing at him since they arrived. “In the vision, it was night.”</p><p>Ahsoka looked at him. “Was it?” She glanced up at the twin moons above them, silvery light caressing her face. “Do you remember what phases they were in?”</p><p>Din thought about it for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t.”</p><p>She hummed and said nothing else, grabbing a rock and pulling herself up with little effort. Din followed suit, and together they scaled the mountain.</p><p>Close to the top, another breeze blew. Din inhaled deeply, expecting to smell the crisp freshness of pure oxygen, or perhaps the subtle sweetness of pine trees.</p><p> But it was the acrid, ashy scent of fire that met his nose. It made his heart stutter to a halt.</p><p>He made a choked noise, which made Ahsoka turn to look at him. Panic rose so quickly within him that his head spun, and he managed, “Fire. I smell fire.”</p><p>Ahsoka’s eyes flashed, and he watched her chest expand with a breath, before she froze body locking.</p><p><em>“No,” </em>he said through clenched teeth, slamming his fist against the rock. “Dammit<em>, no.”</em></p><p>Ahsoka began climbing again, faster this time. Din glanced up at the rest of the mountain that he had yet to climb, and made a decision.</p><p>He released the hold he had on the rock and let himself fall through the air, activating his jetpack in mid-air. It carried him violently upwards, back to where Ahsoka was climbing. “I have to go. I’ll meet you there.”</p><p>“Wait, Din!” she cried out, but it was too late. He was already rising into the night air, away from her.</p><p>He landed on a plateau close to the top of the mountain, his boots slamming down on the rocks. The high elevation gave him a good vantage point, and he looked out at the scene in front of him.</p><p>The temple sat below, in a valley. The oasis that Leia had described was there, behind the ornate structure, but Din didn’t focus on that. He focused instead on the steady plume of smoke rising from the temple, on the small battalion of imperial ships that were parked on the sand in front of it, at the flames that he could see licking part of the roof.</p><p>His breath left him in a gust, ghosting into the inside of his helmet. He stumbled backward, nearly tripping over his own feet.</p><p>
  <em>You’re too late. He’s gone.</em>
</p><p>“No,” he choked, his lungs tightening.</p><p><em>I would have felt it, </em>he told himself, the thought piercing through the static that had evaded his thoughts. <em>He’s not dead. I would have felt it. Save him. <strong>Save him.</strong></em></p><p>Clenching his jaw, he sprinted off the plateau, activating his jet-pack in mid-air. He rocketed over to the temple, where the smoke was billowing from, and dropped down into a flame-eaten hole, entering the structure.</p><p>His boots slammed down onto the marble floors, his knees giving out on impact. He braced his fall with his right hand, steadying himself, and got to his feet.</p><p>The scene in front of him was nearly identical to the one that he witnessed on Coruscant. The fine architecture of the temple was indistinguishable, from the marble columns to the domed archways, the polished floors, and the large glass window, showcasing the dual-moons.</p><p>There were subtle differences, however. For one, the plumes of smoke hadn’t reached the room he was in, but the children had. They were streaming in from the archway that led to another room, faces streaked with a mixture of fear and confusion. He scanned the group, and with sinking, crippling disappointment, he found that Grogu wasn’t among them.</p><p>Several pairs of eyes fell upon him, and the children’s small hands fell to the lightsabers on their belt, and he held out his hands before any could be drawn.</p><p>“I’m here to help,” he said. “I’m a friend.”</p><p>They looked at him with distrust. He wondered if they knew the history behind the Jedi and the Mandalorians and if that was the source of their wariness. Or perhaps they just thought of him as another intruder, in the middle of an invasion.</p><p>A Nautolen teen stepped forward, and with a jolt, Din realized it was the same one that he’d witnessed get cut down, in his vision.</p><p>“Are you imperial?” he asked evenly.</p><p>“No,” Din responded immediately. “I’m a friend. You all need to get out of the temple, right now. There’s—there’s a man here, with a red laser—lightsaber. He’s trying to kill you all.”</p><p>The temple shook underneath their feet, and Din’s heart slammed into his throat. <em>Grogu.</em></p><p>“Go, go!” Din said, running past them. “Get out of here, now!”</p><p>He didn’t look back to see if they had listened to him. He sprinted through the archway that the children had just run through, drawing his blaster as he entered a long corridor.</p><p>The first tendrils of smoke had begun to creep into the end of the hallway, but it wasn’t dense enough to hinder Din’s sight. He scanned the area, once without his radar and once with it, trying to detect any heat signatures in the rapidly swelling cloud.</p><p>At first, he didn’t find anything. His radar picked up no heat signatures, nothing for him to believe that anyone living was inside the smoke. He scanned again, and again, and again—wielding only the same results.</p><p><em>I would have felt it, </em>he tried to tell himself, but it rang hollow. <em>I would have… I would have felt it.</em></p><p>But would he have?</p><p>His hand began to shake around his blaster, the tips of his fingers falling numb. He scanned again, trying to keep his breathing normal, but it was difficult, for there was no sign of Grogu anywhere.</p><p>His pulse raced in his ears, the corridor spinning in front of him. <em>Think logically, </em>he told himself, but the panic fogged his brain, and he couldn’t hold a thought longer than a second.</p><p>Then, his helmet pinged, and a small heat-signature appeared.</p><p>It was right on the edge of the plumes—a tiny mass of orange and yellow appearing on his radar. It was Grogu—he <em>knew </em>it was, he could see the outline of his ears—and the kid appeared to be running toward him, away from the smoke. Din immediately went to him, his legs trembling slightly, relief like he’d never felt coursing through him.</p><p>His kid was <em>alive.</em></p><p>He saw his ear first, and then part of his face, then a section of his robe. Din’s eyes burned as his face split into a smile, the small muscles around his mouth twitching with it. He reached down to pick the kid up and sweep him into his arms, but then he looked at Grogu’s face and stopped.</p><p>He looked terrified.</p><p>His eyes were wide and shining, his small chin wobbling. He babbled something, waving his tiny arms, and out of the corner of Din’s eye, he saw a flash of red.</p><p>He turned at the last possible second. He threw up his vambraces and the lightsaber collided with them, sparks flying upon impact.</p><p>Din looked up and saw a pair of yellow eyes, a straight nose, and a set of thin lips curled into a smile.</p><p>“Run, kid!” Din cried out just as the Jedi moved the lightsaber, slashing it towards his neck. He ducked, letting the blade meet air as he activated his flame thrower, trying to create distance between him and the saber.</p><p>It worked. The Jedi was forced to back up, the edge of its black cloak singeing. Din withdrew the beskar spear from his back, holding it firmly in the palm of his right hand. The Jedi feinted, then charged, and the dance began.</p><p>Upon the first contact of beskar steel meeting molten blade, Din knew that he was going to lose.</p><p>Strangely, the thought didn’t instill fear in him. Instead, it made him fight with burning fervor, using all of his strength… for he didn’t need to last forever, just long enough for Grogu to leave the temple.</p><p>He quickly realized, however, that he might not last even that long. Fighting a Jedi was completely unlike anything he’d ever experienced before; the foe’s movements were quick and precise, calculated, and almost… predicted. It was like he knew what Din was going to do before he did it, knew every parry and thrust and feint. Din couldn’t get a single hit in on him.</p><p>A badly timed sweeping motion with the spear was his first and last mistake. In one move, the Jedi was able to knock the weapon from his hands, sending it flying across the room and eventually clattering to the marble floor.</p><p><em>Times up, </em>he thought, using his flamethrower as a distraction to check behind him and see if Grogu was gone.</p><p>The kid was standing at the archway at the end of the corridor, looking at him.</p><p>His face was filled with the same fear as before, but there was something else in his eyes now. Din recognized it immediately: pure, bullheaded stubbornness.</p><p>The kid made it perfectly clear. He wasn’t leaving without Din.</p><p>Din’s eyes widened, and he turned back to the enemy in front of him, thinking quickly. The Jedi charged at him again, and he blocked the blow with his vambraces once more, the impact bruising his skin. The Jedi backed up to strike, and Din flexed his wrist, activating his whistling birds.</p><p>As they flew through the air, Din sprinted backward to where Grogu stood. He picked up the kid with a single hand and reached for the controls for his jetpack. New plan: he was going to fly them both out and wait for Ahsoka’s assistance.</p><p>Before he could press a single button, white-hot pain erupted on his right calf. It was like something was cutting through him, burning the tendons and ligaments and tissue. He cried out and tumbled to the ground.</p><p>Grogu squealed as he fell, landing on the ground underneath Din, who managed to catch his fall with his forearms. He gritted his teeth against the agony, a scream on the tip of his tongue.</p><p>He tried to move his legs, but the pain was too great. It rippled through his calf and his hamstring, like something was pulling the muscles taught, straining and stretching them. He grunted, unable to keep from making noise. Grogu whined underneath him.</p><p>Din heard the Jedi approach slowly from behind, boots clicking menacingly on the marble. Din moved so that he was covering Grogu entirely—shielding him from the enemy with his body of beskar.</p><p>Grogu whined again. His bottom lip quivered, onyx eyes filling with tears. Din’s throat tightened.</p><p>“Shh,” he whispered, running a clumsy hand across the top of his child’s head. The fine white hairs flattened underneath his palm. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”</p><p>The tears overflowed, spilling down his cheeks. He shuddered, and Din shushed him again, running his gloved thumb across his child’s wrinkled forehead.</p><p>The footsteps grew closer and closer, but Din didn’t pay any attention to them. He knew he was going to die. It was inevitable, at this point. The Jedi was going to kill him.</p><p>He just wanted to have a few, final moments with his son.</p><p>“I’m sorry that I let you go,” Din whispered. “<em>Ni ceta, ad’ika. Ni ceta.”</em><a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a></p><p>The Jedi was behind them, now, dark presence poisoning the air around him. His lightsaber ignited. Din shut his eyes and braced.</p><p>He waited.</p><p>The blow never came.</p><p>Instead, he heard the ignition of another lightsaber, and then the sound of two blades clashing, the sound high-pitched and electric.</p><p>Din twisted his torso to look behind him and saw Ahsoka Tano locked in close combat with the Jedi.</p><p>Relief stole his breath and brought tears to his eyes. He twisted back around and let out a small noise of relief, one caught between a moan and a whimper. His arms trembled underneath him, shaking violently and threatening to give out.</p><p>Grogu was still crying softly, eyes wide and terrified. Din shushed him once more, before picking him up and tucking him underneath his arm and close to his chest. The kid latched on immediately; clawed fingers curling around the exposed fabric of Din’s undershirt, between his chest piece and his pauldron.</p><p>Slowly, Din began to crawl over to one of the marble columns. His leg burned with the movement, but he pushed through it, inching across the floor.</p><p>Once there, he slid up against the pillar, back coming to rest on the hard, curved surface. He watched as Ahsoka battled the Jedi, her movements so fast that they were nearly undetectable. It was visibly clear that she was the better fighter, and compared to her, the other Jedi looked like an amateur. Din was certain that she was going to win.</p><p>He turned his attention, instead, to the child that was steadily sobbing into his undershirt. He rested a gloved hand on his quivering back, rubbing gentle circles on the fabric of his robe with his thumb, trying to get the kid to calm down.</p><p>It didn’t work. The tears didn’t slow, and the sobs didn’t quiet. Sighing deeply, Din grabbed the edge of his helmet and pulled it over his head, letting it fall onto the floor next to him.</p><p>“Grogu,” Din said roughly, voice shot. Grogu removed his face from the fabric and looked up at Din, eyes wet and expression miserable. It broke Din’s heart.</p><p>“Come here, buddy,” he whispered, and the kid complied. He crawled up Din’s chest, claws scrabbling for purchase on the smooth beskar, before burying his wet face in Din’s neck, breaths hitching.</p><p>Din laid his hand back on Grogu’s back and let his head thud back against the pillar, exhaustion and relief making him exhausted and dizzy.</p><p>To his right, Ahsoka sliced through the torso of the Jedi, ending the fight. Above him, he heard the thunderous sound of several X-wings, mixed with the cacophony of gunfire.</p><p>Grogu’s heart beat next to his ear, sure and steady.</p><p>Din shut his eyes, took a breath, and let it go.</p><p>--</p><p> </p><p><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> “I’m sorry, little one. I’m sorry.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This took AGES to get out, and I'm so sorry about that. My junior year of college is kicking my ass, and my laptop broke over the weekend, so I wasn't able to get any writing done. But this is pretty much it for the story! I have an epilogue left, and then it's done. It'll probably be awhile before that gets out, but it will get done. I've just got so much work to do lmao.<br/>As always, feedback is much appreciated. I'll see you guys soon!<br/>Follow me on <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thestarvingwriter">Tumblr</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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